


Life Is Hard

by Tori_Scribbles



Series: Living [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Chronic Illness, Darcy Lewis-centric, Disabled Character, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Families of Choice, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mental Health Issues, Multi, POV Darcy Lewis, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Social Media, Steve Rogers Feels, Team as Family, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-11
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 12:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 98,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25849786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tori_Scribbles/pseuds/Tori_Scribbles
Summary: Life is hard. Everybody, at some point realises this, some earlier than others, and some find this out in easier ways than others..Darcy’s story as she grows up, becomes an intern and moves in with Earth’s Mightiest Hero’s.....Reuploaded August 2020. Written 2013.
Relationships: Darcy Lewis/Steve Rogers
Series: Living [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875709
Comments: 17
Kudos: 86





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, so wow. I really thought everybody would have just forgotten about this series and nobody would notice if I took it down, so getting not one but six messages asking what happened to it and if it could be put back up was... incredible honestly. I started writing this series when I was fourteen and now nearly six years later, I'm not loving some of the ways I wrote (see the fact that this is in first person) and this entire series I think is nearly 200k which is too much to go through and edit (trust me, I tried!)  
> But I'm reuploading it, mostly unedited since it was first posted and although I would love to be able to go through and edit and finish this series, I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon what with my own life commitments, I don't love the MCU's choices from like Age of Ultron onwards (apart from Thor:R, BP, CM and SM, those are excellent pieces of film!)  
> I do regret taking this series down now that I'm going through it again and I am incredibly proud of fourteen year old me for doing all of this!  
> Each of these stories will be posted again as one chapter so please read the warnings and tags at the beginning of each that apply for the entire thing. The snippets and outtakes will also be reuploaded!  
> Again, thank you so much for your support. It really does mean a lot! 
> 
> You can still find all of the gifs and edits on my tumblr [here.](https://purplepingupenguins.tumblr.com/tagged/living+series)
> 
>  **Story Warnings:** Discussions of child abuse, domestic abuse, depression, anxiety, homophobia, sexual assault. Descriptions of: panic attacks, flashbacks, violence, claustraphobia

**Prologue**

Life. What is life? Life is hard. Everybody, at some point, realises this, some earlier than others, and some find this out in easier ways than others.

Me? I found this out when I was four years old.

I lived with my mom, dad and older brother Jake and things were great; or so I thought.

I don’t remember much from that early on in my life, nobody ever does, but I remember my parents starting to argue. I remember their tender hugs and kisses, go to cold shoulders and glares.

I remember hearing arguments through the walls about silly things at first like my brother wanting a dog, and leaving keys in the back of the front door, to hearing them yell about money, which at three and four, I never understood. I just thought money was something everyone had.

What I didn’t realise was my mom working two jobs at minimum wage to keep my brother and I in a good school. While my dad only worked one, he got to drive big coaches full of important people, so it was okay when he missed tucking me in at night, it was okay that I didn’t see him before I went to school, it was okay when I couldn’t disturb him because he wanted to sleep in. It was okay.

.

There are few people who I truly admire in life. My sister-in-law, my cousins, well, cousin.

When I was younger I had two cousins, Rose and Clara, Rose was older, she spent more time with my brother because they were the “big kids” that could do everything and anything while me and my other cousin, Clara, who despite being older than me, couldn’t do half of the things that they could and I never understood why; until it was too late.

She had to use a special stick that my grandad made for so she could walk.

On the bad days she had to sit in a chair and let people push her around.

She had to go up and down the stairs on her butt, because her legs couldn’t hold her.

I never understood that she was different. Because in my life time she had always been like that. I never understood until I never saw her again.

When I was older and starting asking where Clara had gone, I found out that she got sick, with something called Cancer, and that there were many different types of Cancer, but Clara had one called Neuroblastoma. Which only children get, and can’t yet be cured.

She died when she was eight years old at her own choice. It was her choice to stop having the treatment and bone marrow transplants, because at eight years old she knew she was going to die with or without them, and she wanted her last days to be in peace at home rather than on an operating table, taking up recourses that other people, people with a chance of getting better could use.

Even while going through this, she always smiled, she was always so positive. She could have put the world to right in a day. She was my first friend and will always be my best friend, who was more like a sister to me than a cousin. She’s the person who I will always look up to in life.

Because she taught me that strength and wisdom don’t come with age, or life, or happiness. They come from pain and fear and a certainty that the past is the past, and we can’t change that no matter how much we want to.

Cancer became my first real fear.

.

Less than two years later, with more arguments than ever, it wasn’t really that great a surprise when my brother and I came home from school to find my dad and all of his things gone.

Mom said he had to move out, and it was best for all of us and that we’d still see him and he still loved us both.

But it wasn’t the same.

Over the next several years we’d stay at his house on Wednesdays and every other weekend. Also on birthdays, briefly on Christmas day and then we’d spend the whole day at his parents on Boxing Day for a second Christmas.

He wasn’t happy when mom decided to take my brother and I out of school and home tutor us. But it worked, it worked better than any school ever did, and for some reason, he could never accept that.

The routine continued for some time until I was about seven.

Cancer gave me another reason to fear it. This time with my Nan.

Like before, the chemo and operations only worked for so long before it was just too much.

I came home from my dad’s on a Thursday when I was nine and I knew something was wrong the minute I was told not to bother with my school uniform.

I think my brother knew what had happened before we even had breakfast.

When we got home we were sat down and told again.

That we couldn’t see her again, but she loved us and that we would be okay.

I didn’t go to school for a few days.

Then the funeral. I don’t think I could ever forget that.

I wasn’t allowed to sit in on the meetings like Jake and Rose, I wasn’t old enough, so I didn’t know what to expect.

Rose and I each recorded a poem that was played in the service.

I cried through the whole thing.

I went back to school the next day. I wasn’t ready. I knew that before I went in. But my mom and everyone else was going back to work so I had to be brave.

I walked into class late, trying to convince myself that I could do it.

But the minute the teacher asked why I was late I knew I couldn’t.

I broke down in of all of my fourth grade class, while the teacher hugged me.

After that my attendance dropped.

My mom took me out of school at seventh grade, after the Spring break I never went back.

.

March 24th that year, two months before I left school, was the day that I realised how cruel life could be, not matter how old you were.

It was the day I realised that the world didn’t care if it was a twelve year old girl in her school uniform, in her local children’s park, or if it were a supermodel walking down the street in her underwear.

Nobody asks for it. It happens and person to blame is not the victim, ever.

The last part I never truly believed until I was nearly sixteen.

.

Under the pressure of my dad who I saw less and less I decided the semester before I was due to start High School I was going to go back into School.

Sometimes I still question why I did it. I try and convince myself that I did it for me. But I know I didn’t. I did it for him, because I wanted to be more than his “worthless piece of shit” daughter who was “worthless and taking up to much space,” after staying with him for not even two weeks.

High School was terrible. The first year the worst. With crippling anxiety, PTSD from when I was 12 and undiagnosed depression. Not to mention a closeted pansexual, who couldn’t tell her family, because a gay daughter wouldn’t help my dad’s family’s perfect catholic image.

My mom was there every step of the way. My rocky attendance, struggling grades, she never once pushed me to do more than I could. Nudged occasionally. But never pushed.

The second year was better. I left with a reasonable attendance and straight A*’s.

At sixteen, I was done with school, and as it turned out, my dad too.

.

After that, I struggled again, this time from an old dance injury, my knees started dislocating when I walked and my ankle wasn’t much better. After months of different scans, operations and most of my time on crutches or in a chair, my mom signed the forms. At sixteen years old I woke up, missing my leg from just above my knee.

Things were difficult for a while, with hours upon hours of physical therapy, I got a pretty basic prosthetic. So then came my next struggle, learning to walk again. But unlike when I was a child, I couldn’t feel one of my legs. The one made of metal and plastic was lighter than the flesh and bone, it didn’t quite bend at the knee right so I was stuck with a permanent limp. Which, if that was the price I had to pay to walk again; it was worth it.

Though, I did have to compromise a lot. My plans to follow my brother in the army, gone, the dance lessons that I used to take when I was little, and still did as a hobby, nope, I couldn’t do that. So then I had to rethink my entire life plan.

After months of near solid studying, I finally got what I hoped for.

An acceptance letter to Culver University, studying Political Science. Knowing that doing something, had to be better than doing nothing.

That’s when things really got interesting.

At twenty two, I was six college credits short of a graduation. So I applied for an internship and the rest goes down in history. Literally.

.

My internship was in New Mexico, with a crazy stubborn Astrophysicist Doctor Jane Foster.

Despite her crazy obsession with science, and without the ability to take care of herself, she quickly became my closest friend. She was there for me through my mom’s death and even went with me to her funeral.

A few months later she was calling Erik Selvig out and she hit a Norse god with a car. Whom I proudly tased after he freaked me out, yelling something about a hammer.

Long story short. We took him to the hospital, Jane hit him with her car again. We found out his name was Thor. Some men in suits took all of our stuff. Including my iPod that my mom bought me. His father banished him. His brother told him his father was dead. His friends showed up and told him his brother lied. There was a big fire breathing metal monster thing that showed up. Thor did some really cool thing, with the lightning, he got his hammer back and a really cool costume to match. He showed Jane a rainbow bridge and then left.

That’s when we really got to know S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Agent Coulson or Son of Coul as Thor called him, was in charge of everything. I’m pretty sure he had me followed by some guy that I’m pretty sure I saw with a bow and arrows. But nobody confirmed anything.

After S.H.I.E.L.D. finally gave us our stuff back, they stuck around for a while, before realising that Thor wasn’t going to come back and they also left.

Agent Coulson though. I realised was pretty damn awesome. The dude that was definitely not following me and definitely not Robin Hood, wasn’t too bad himself, even if he never would tell me his name.

The next time we heard from S.H.I.E.L.D. was a phone call from Agent Coulson saying there was a project in Norway that needed Jane’s attention urgently.

Once we arrived in Norway, we realised that it was just a cover and all that was there was a five star hotel and a couple of armed guards.

Then New York happened.

It started with reports of Captain America and Iron Man being in Germany, though it was never announced why. So I definitely didn’t find out that Loki, Thor’s adopted brother had come to earth.

Jane and I didn’t hear anything, but watched helplessly on the TV the Battle of Manhattan. The black hole above Stark Tower.

Jane cried when she saw Thor.

And like the rest of the world sat tensely as Iron Man flew a nuclear missile through the worm hole.

The aliens deactivated and Stark only just made it back through.

The next day the world was talking about the Avengers.

Two days after that when we were on our way back to America. Pepper Potts announced that Stark Tower would be renamed The Avengers Tower and it would be the headquarters of the Avenger Initiative, and also the home of the heroes.

When S.H.I.E.L.D. called again, it wasn’t Coulson this time.

“Hello?” I answered, confused at the blocked number.

“ _Is this Darcy Lewis?”_ The unfamiliar woman asked.

“Yes?” I respond warily.

“ _My name is Maria Hill. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D.,” she_ said. Her voice sounding strange, as if she wasn’t sure what to say.

“Is this an update on why we were randomly sent to Norway? If so I wanna talk to Coulson. Unless he has a damn good reason I will tase him. Why is he not calling? He said he’d be in touch?”

“ _Agent Coulson, was killed in action, right before the Battle of New York,”_ Hill said, her voice soft.

“Oh,” I said. Jane looked up from making coffee, a look of worry spread across her face.

“ _I didn’t think anybody would have told you,”_ Hill said.

“They hadn’t,” I cleared my throat. “Thank you.” Before Hill could say anything else I cut the call.

“Darcy?" Jane asked. "What's happened?”

“Coulson,” I said, my voice weak, as a single tear ran down my cheek. “He’s dead. He was killed right before New York."

I watched as Jane’s eyes went glassy, several tears running down her cheeks as she hugged me.

“The jobs worth the risk,” I whispered. Repeating the same words Coulson said to me, when I was in the bar one night.

Later that night Jane and I ended up in the same bar, both raising a bottle of beer, in a silent toast, to a thug in a suit who turned out to be an alright guy. A friend.

The next day the sun rose, and the world went on.

Though after that we tended to leave the TV on in the background, and I often found myself distracted, watching the Avengers (minus Thor) on the streets of Manhattan, helping with the clear up.

I was kind of reassuring that there were people looking out for the world, people who’d lay down their own lives to protect us.

.

It was almost a month, of Jane researching as much as she could, but she was running out of money, and without the recognition she needed, she couldn’t get the funds she needs.

We walked down the street together, Izzy’s best coffee’s in hand.

I listened as she rambled on about something sciencey that I couldn’t keep up with.

“Jane,” I said. Stopping dead in the street, opposite the “lab”.

“…If I changed the frequency, maybe I’d be able to get the signal…” She continued.

“Jane,” I repeated. Grabbing her arm, pulling her to a stop. She looked at me in confusion, making me nod forwards.

The doors, that I’d definitely shut before we went out, sat wide open.

Sure, this was a small town where people left their doors unlocked and keys in the ignition. But nobody here ever crossed the line of actually breaking in to other people’s homes.

I slid my hand in my purse, wrapping my fingers around my Taser. Raising it up, I cautiously stepped inside.

“Hello?” I called out, looking around. I froze at the sight of Iron Man sitting on the couch. “Holy shit!”

“Hi.”

Spinning round I gaped, the multi billionaire, playboy... whatever he’s called today, was standing at the white board as if he was just reading Jane’s math.

Jane walked in behind me and froze.

“You’re –,” she gaped, looking between the suit and man.

“I am.” He nodded.

“But you’re here?” she asked. Stark looked at the ground and nodded.

“Yep."

“Oh my god,” Jane muttered, taking a large gulp of her coffee.

“You’re Doctor Jane Foster, right?” he asked stepping forwards, shaking Jane’s hand. He looked warily at my Taser, which I shoved back in my bag. “Darcy Lewis her intern. Whose internship actually expired nearly a year ago."

“Erm. How do you know this?” I asked, watching as he moved back to look at Jane’s research.

“Thor. We talked, there was shwarma. It was a long day,” Tony said with a vague wave of his hand. “This,” he gestured to the research. “This is amazing I’ve been following your work for a while now. It’s impressive,”

“Thank you?” Jane said, still sounding slightly unsure of herself, as if she was imagining Tony Stark in her home saying he was a big fan of her work.

“I’m here to offer you a job,” he said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket. “With full accommodation at the Avengers Tower, and full access to all of the labs and endless funding, including travel allowances for both you and your… assistant?” He looked to me, looking as though he didn't know what word to use.

“And this has nothing to do with my relationship to Thor?” Jane asked, as she took the envelope sceptically, reading over the contract.

“Not at all. Like I said, I’ve been following your work for years. Plus Banner knew Selvig and Selvig knew you and I’ve had a lot of recommendations to seal the deal,” he said.

“Erik?” I asked, we hadn’t heard from him since he left with Coulson.

“He was in New York,” Tony said then hesitated. “Which you didn’t know because it was classified. Ah, Hill is going to kill me."

“Maria Hill?” I asked, Tony narrowed his eyes at me but nodded.

“How do you know–”

“She was the one that called us after Manhattan. She told us about Coulson,” I said, my voice suddenly softer.

An almost pained look crossed Tony’s face.

“Agent,” he muttered. Had I not been able to read his lips I probably wouldn’t have known he’d said anything.

“Sorry,” I said. Realising I’d clearly hit a sore spot. He waved it off and turned back to Jane, who was on the third page of her contract.

“Who would I be working for? The Avengers or Stark Industries?” she finally asked. I plucked the contract out of her hands.

“Both,” Tony said. Looking down I flicked through to the good bit.

_Excepting the offer would include:_

_-Full housing in the Avengers Tower residential floors, all expenses paid, for both you and your intern/assistant._

_-A fully funded lab with an extra allowance for anything extra you may require._

_-Full access to all of the residential floors at the Avengers Tower (within reason of other people’s privacy)_

_-A certain security clearance._

_-Travel expenses, to allow you to continue your research around the world whenever needed._

_-All of your work belongs to you first and foremost. Anything you don’t wish to be publicised or branded, may remain your own._

“Are you saying if Jane accepted this, we’d be living with the Avengers?” I asked, as Jane snatched it back.

“I believe your apartments will be above Agent Romanoff’s floor and below Agent Barton’s. Though, they spend a lot of time in Barton’s… So Romanoff’s floor is mostly empty. Then Captain Rogers floor and guest rooms below,” he explained.

Jane read through the contract several more times, asking a few more questions here and there before nodding. Grabbing a pen she signed on the dotted lines and handed it back.

“ _Sir, Captain Rogers is requesting your location. It seems someone is trying to deal alien weaponry in New Jersey,”_ A cool English voice said out of nowhere.

Both Jane and I jumped. My hand reaching for my Taser.

“Don’t worry that’s just Jarvis. My AI. He run’s the tower and suits. The only person to run more of Stark Industries is Pepper,” Tony said, gesturing to his suit. “Jarvis, Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis,”

“ _It’s a pleasure to meet you Doctor Foster. Miss Lewis.”_

“Likewise,” I muttered.

“ _Sir, Agent Barton is preparing the Quinjet to fly to New Jersey in under five minutes,”_ Jarvis said. If computers could sound exasperated, I’m pretty sure that would be Jarvis.

“All right. All right. Tell Capsicle to chill out a little,” Tony said, flicking his fingers the suit walked across the room to stand behind him. “I’ll send some removal men, to help with your equipment in a couple of weeks, and they’ll give you information on the jet to get to New York." The suit enclosed around him. He nodded to both of us before flying out of the door, sending several pieces of paper flying.

We both stood there for a minute before Jane shook her head.

“What just happened?” she asked.

“I think you just went to work for a billion dollar company. I also think we’re moving to Manhattan,” I said.

“Huh."

.

Just as Tony said, two weeks later a knock on the door, just as Janes phone rang, interrupted my morning coffee.

I pulled open the door to see five guys dressed in Stark Industries jackets.

“Miss Potts said you’d be expecting us, Doctor Foster,” The first guy said. I scoffed.

“I’m not Doctor Foster,” I said, before turning back. “Jane!” I yelled. She glanced up, hanging up her call she came to stand behind me.

“It’s okay,” she said. “They can come in.” She nudged me to the side to let the guys in. “All that stuff is for the lab.” She pointed to most of the boxes. “ _Be careful!”_ She stressed. “That stuff is my personal stuff, and that’s Darcy’s,”

“Break my stuff and I’ll tase you!” I said brightly.

“You realise we used to work for Tony Stark, right?” Another one of the guys said. “We’ve had worse threats than that Darlin’.”

_Was that supposed to be flirting?_

“Seriously though. I tased Thor. I think I can handle a couple of moving guys,” I scoffed. The guy glared. _Okay, that was weird._

After the five guys refused our help for about the tenth time we finally decided to head over to Izzy’s, and get a last cup of her coffee in New Mexico.

“Morning Izzy,” Jane and I chorused.

“Morning Ladies,” she said as she grabbed two mugs. “So today's the day y’all are off to the big city?” She slid the two mugs across the counter.

“Yes ma’am,” I said, sipping the coffee. “I am going to miss your coffee Izzy.”

“I’m sure there’s better coffee up there,” Izzy laughed.

“I’m not so sure about that,” I said, sounding doubtful. I went to college in New York. In a lot of places the coffee sucked.

Izzy smiled. “Well, you girls have fun, but be careful,” she said coming round the counter and pulled Jane into a hug.

“We will Izzy,” Jane promised. Pulling away Izzy hugged me tightly.

“Thanks Izzy,” I whispered. “For everything,”

She squeezed me a little tighter before pulling away.“Now go!” She said, ushering us towards the door.

“Bye, Izzy,” We both called out.

“Bye,” she laughed.

Walking back down into the lab, I sighed. The Stark Industries guys were loading the last box into the van. The room was weird empty. The boards covered in math were gone. So were the loud machines held together with duct tape.

I sighed again.

_Home never lasted._

“We’re all set,” Moving guy 1 said.

“Awesome,” I said, spinning round to face him.

Jane walked down the stairs from the room.

“Well, let’s go then,” she said.

The S.I. guys drove us to the airfield where a sleek white jet was waiting and the guy told us to wait inside while they loaded everything up.

Stepping inside I gave a low whistle.

“Janey, we’ve gone up in the world,” I murmured.

To the left there were three white couches. To the left there was a bar and a small kitchen. A large flat screen was mounted on the wall above four leather chairs. Practically skipping forwards, I dropped backwards onto the couch, groaning at the comfort.

For this, all those nights on a park bench were worth it.

**Chapter One**

The flight to New York passed fairly quickly, Jane finally started to catch up on sleep while I flicked through the various TV channels. Most of which seemed to be broadcasting the news.

_Captain America was seen with the Black Widow, twice. But isn’t the Black Widow in a relationship with Hawkeye?_

I groaned flicking through to the next channel.

_Iron Man’s girlfriend Pepper Potts, was seen out with a mysterious man…_

“CEO of the world’s top tech industry, but no Iron Man’s girlfriend works so much better,” I scoffed. Flicking the TV off.

“ _This is the pilot speaking. We’re coming into land. Please fasten your seatbelts,”_ The guy came over the intercom.

“Hey Jane, wake up. We’re here,” I said, shaking her slightly.

We moved over to the leather chairs, buckling up I stared out at the window as the plane touched down on the runway. The small airfield was empty except for a sleek black car.

A man in a suit and black shades was standing next to it, his hands clasped in front of him.

As we stepped down off the plane the man stepped forward shaking Jane’s hand.

“Hi. I’m Happy. Happy Hogan. I’m Mr Stark’s driver. I’m here to take you to the tower,” he said.

“I’m Jane. This is Darcy."

“It’s a pleasure,” he said opening the back door for us. I slid in first, shuffling across the backseat and Jane slid in next to me.

“Don’t worry about your things. They’ll probably be at the tower by the time we get there,” Happy said as he started the car.

I leant my head against the window, watching the city streets pass by and cringed slightly at the sight of the crowds outside the Avengers Tower.

“You’ll have to get out on the street I’m afraid,” he said. “There was need of some unplanned repairs to the garage. Just go straight to the back of the lobby, to the private elevator. Go inside and Jarvis will take you up the top,”

“This’ll be fun,” I muttered as he pulled to a stop on the curb.

Jane and I slid out of the car quickly, calling our thanks to Happy. Walking past the crowd was slightly weird, there were tourists and cosplayers.

Walking straight inside it was a sudden reminder that this tower was Stark Industries main operations.

The lobby was bright and surprisingly calm, with a few office people bustling through.

Following Happy’s instructions, we headed straight towards the back of the lobby where there was a single glass elevator that had a window out onto the street.

“ _Welcome to the Avengers tower, Doctor Foster, Miss Lewis,”_ Jarvis said, as the doors slid shut.

I shuffled slightly, biting my lip, pressing my back into the glass, looking out at the city.

“ _Are you okay, Miss Lewis?”_ Jarvis asked as Jane took my hand.

“Just peaky. Me and small spaces don’t tend to go well,” I said.

“ _Understood,”_ he said, as if noting it down for later.

The elevator came to a stop with a ping and a red light on top flashed out into the room. Stepping out I practically gaped, looking around the large living area. To the right was a massive square conversation pit facing a large flat screen TV that you’d find in a small cinema. As we walked further into the room a large kitchen was set behind a half wall. Behind there another open door lead to what looked like a dining room.

A set of lead down to another floor, and leaning over the rail I saw a fully equipped bar and pool table.

At the click of heels we spun round to see _the_ Pepper Potts walking out of the dining room towards us with a smile.

“You must be Doctor Foster and Miss Lewis?” Miss Potts said. “I’m Pepper. Welcome to the Avengers Tower."

“Just Jane and Darcy,” Jane corrected and Pepper smiled.

“Jarvis can you tell Tony if he wants to give Jane and Darcy the grand tour he needs to get out of his lab,” she said, glancing up at the ceiling.

“ _Sir is on his way down,”_ Jarvis replied.

“This is the communal floor. You’ll have your own kitchen and dining rooms in your own apartments. But we normally eat here, because it’s just easier. That also includes occasional movie nights,” she explained. “Jarvis runs the entire tower, he monitors every room except for bathrooms for security purposes. He won’t report anything unless anybody is in immediate danger or distress. Of course you can ask him to monitor or not to monitor other things,”

The elevator pinged and the red light flashed again.

“What’s with the light?” Jane asked curiously.

“A tower full of soldiers and veterans and Agents. Surprising them isn’t the best idea. Bruce sometimes wears earphones and sneaking up on him is not a good idea,” Tony said, coming to stand next to Pepper.

At least nobody was going to sneak up on me. That was one thing I guess.

“So tour time,” he said, rubbing his hand together.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Pepper said, pecking Tony on the cheek she smiled at both of us before heading towards the elevator.

“Couches, kitchen, dining room,” he gestured to each item as he spoke.

“Down those stairs is an entertainment floor, pool table, bar, I think there’s a karaoke machine down there somewhere too.The fun stuff is this way,” he said walking towards the elevator.

“ _Sir, might I suggest taking the stairs,”_ Jarvis said and Tony froze, looking around in confusion. I tensed, my eyes widening. _“My scanners are indicating that it might be more comfortable for everyone,”_ Tony glanced at Jane and I for a second before turning around and heading towards the stairs, without a word, I gave a small sigh in relief as I followed.

We walked several floor up to another floor, where there were several glass walls separating labs. I could feel Jane practically bouncing at the sight.

“This floor has my main lab, Bruce’s and yours. There’s also another lab on the top floor for you with a telescope and everything,” he said, walking through an automatic door into a large lab that had Jane’s equipment already set up.

“Those doors go through to Bruce’s lab and there’s another set of doors that normally kept open that go into mine,” he explained. “If you need to order anything or buy anything just tell Jarvis and he will place an order,”

Jane was hardly listening, already checking the machines.

Tony gave a slight smile as he moved to knock on the glass wall. A man appeared behind one of his own machines and walked towards us, the doors between labs opening.

“Ladies, this is Doctor Bruce Banner. Bruce, meet Doctor Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis,” Tony said as Bruce shook both of our hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Doctor Banner said.

I pulled myself up to sit on one of the tables, pulling my phone out, I tuned out as they started talking science.

“ _Sir, Captain Rogers and Agents Barton and Romanoff have just landed,”_ Jarvis said sometime later.

“Huh,” Tony said, looking down at his watch. He turned to Bruce. “You will be in the communal floor for seven, big guy." He pointed his finger then turned to us. “Ladies, your rooms are this way,” I hopped off the table and followed him downstairs as he went on. “There’s a movie night, with pizza and stuff in the communal floor tonight at seven. You’re both invited. Just give Jarvis your pizza order." He pushed open a door to a short corridor with a door on either side.

“Jane, at Thor’s request you are to have his apartment when he’s on Asguard,” Tony said gesturing to the door on the right. “Darcy-” he gestured to the door opposite. “-Feel free to paint or change the furniture. Just let Jarvis know what you need,”

I pushed open the door to my apartment and swore softly.

The main room was all open plan, the living room, kitchen and dining room, I think it was bigger than all of my past houses combined.

“This is all mine?” I asked, turning back to Tony. He nodded. I just gaped in return.

“Have fun settling in,” he said before disappearing into the elevator.

“Don’t go back upstairs without me,” Jane said before disappearing into her own apartment.

With a sigh I stepped further inside, shutting the door behind me.

There were several boxes from New Mexico stacked to the side. Choosing to unpack everything later, I grabbed the box marked toiletries, and carried it through the massive bedroom into the ridiculously big bathroom, with a bath deep enough for me to probably swim in. Dumping the box on the counter, I unpacked my shampoos, conditioners, and toothbrush. Laying them out just right, before tossing the box into the spare bedroom.

Grabbing Jake's old Swiss army knife from my pocket I slit open the boxes labelled _Clothes._

I turned it over in my hand with a sigh.

_He was being deployed in two weeks, this was the first time since mom died. This was the first time I hadn’t seen him go._

Shoving the knife back in my pocket I grabbed some clothes and went to take a shower.

The shower was even nicer than the bath. It had a bench, several jets and with the door closed, you could probably fit about ten people inside. I took a long shower, varying between balancing on one leg and sitting down. Dressing in a pair of black jeans and a khaki green high necked, long sleeved top. Pulling on a pair of boots, I dried my hair, reapplying my makeup.

There was a knock at the door.

Pulling it open, Jane stood there, freshly showered, the bottoms of her hair still wet.

“Ready,” I asked, moving behind the door, shoving my knife in my boot and my Taser in my pocket.

“Let’s go,” Jane said, pulling open the door to the stairwell, which had one of the walls just looking out over the city.

“You don’t have to take the stairs ya know,” I said as we walked up the third flight of stairs.

_With my leg I wasn’t supposed to walk up and down stairs much, especially several flights. But I’d rather my leg aching than the small elevators._

“I don’t mind,” Jane shrugged. Pushing open the door to the communal floor. “How is Jake?” she asked and I looked up, confused at her sudden change of subject. “Don’t think I didn’t see you shove that knife in your boot.” She scoffed, I rolled my eyes.

“He deploys the week after next,” I said, looking away. “It’s the first time I won’t be able to see him go… It’s the last one since mom…” Jane reached out, her hand on my arm before pulling me into a hug.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered in my ear.

“I hope so.”

Walking further into the room, Pepper was sitting in the conversation pit, a tablet balanced on her knees and a glass of wine on the table in front of us. She looked up gesturing for us to join her.

“How are your apartments?” she asked as we sat down.

“Amazing,” Jane said, I nodded in agreement.

“I’m sure Tony said, but if you want anything changed just say so,” she said.

We both nodded. Before we could reply, the elevator flashed as Tony and a slightly uncomfortable looking Bruce came out. Both of them stepping down. Tony sat next to Pepper and Bruce sat on the other couch opposite.

“Where is Capsicle and –”

“Right here,” A smooth voice said, looking around a tall blond was walking down the stairs. As he got closer my eyes widened, not only was he like a perfectly sculptured model, it was also Captain freaking America.

“Steve, this is Doctor Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis. They’ve just moved into Thor’s floor,” Pepper said. “Jane, Darcy, this is Captain Steve Rogers.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Captain,” I said.

“Likewise, Miss Lewis. And Steve,” he said.

“Just Darcy,” I corrected lightly. He nodded, sitting down next to Bruce.

“Jarvis, where are our residential spies?” Tony asked.

“ _On their way up, sir,”_ Jarvis said. Seconds later the elevator flashed again.

A tall redhead whose face had been through all the tabloids recently stepped out next to a guy.

I swore at the sight of.

Jane followed my line of sight and smiled slightly.

“I am going to kill him,” I muttered, this time Jane laughed.

They stepped down into the conversation pit and the guy grinned down at me as Romanoff took a seat.

Pulling myself up I punched his arm.

“Aw, c’mon Darce! What was that for?” he asked.

“Take your pick,” I snapped, well aware we were getting some weird looks from everyone except Jane who was laughing. “Let’s start with the fact that you never told me your real name, I spent ages calling you ‘Robin Hood’, even Phil told –” I broke off, pain flashed across Clint’s face, I looked down. “’m sorry,” I muttered. I flinched slightly at his hand on my arm before he wrapped his arms around me.

I automatically tensed, but he didn’t care, just held me till I relaxed.

“Me too,” he said quietly. He pulled away, studying my face carefully. “How’s it been?”

“Fine,” I shrugged, looking away. He raised an eyebrow, I glared at Jane as she reached up and flicked my arm. Clint’s look of scepticism increased. “Bearable?” I tried. Clint sighed, pulling me into a tight hug again, his chin resting on the top of my head.

Tony cleared his throat loudly and I went to step back, Clint however kept an arm around me, so I was leaning into his side.

“So, you two already know each other?” he said, looking between us.

“I was assigned to New Mexico when Thor landed,” Clint said.

“He stopped me from tasering some guy in a bar,” I said, remembering it.

“Kinda wish I hadn’t though,” he muttered, too low for anyone but Jane and I to hear him.

“So you’re Darcy,” The redhead that Clint came in with, Natasha said.

“Erm, yeah?” I said awkwardly.

“Darcy Lewis, Natasha Romanoff,” Clint said. Natasha stared at me for a second, giving me the same look that Clint and Phil used to give me, as if they were reading my mind, analysing every part of me. After a moment she smiled at me.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said.

“Likewise,” I said with a nervous smile.

I dropped back onto the couch, Clint sitting between Natasha and I.

“Jarvis, load it up buddy,” Tony said. The lights dimmed and a large screen rolled down from the ceiling. Lighting up as if it was a movie theatre.

I sunk back into the couch, as the movie started.

Movie night with the Avengers was something different that was for sure.

Steve kept looking over to Natasha whenever he didn’t understand something, and she’d explain it in a hushed whisper.

Tony made loud commentary on the weapons or technology, about how it was outdated or how they could make it look better.

Halfway through the second movie pizza’s arrived, along with popcorn, beers and wine.

Grabbing a bottle of beer, I went through a few slices of pizza, glaring at Clint as he tossed pieces of popcorn at me.

As the fourth movie started up, I looked down at me phone, it was only 11pm.

I slid it back into my pocket, shuffling my foot that was starting to go stiff in my boot.

I glanced at Clint who’d kicked his boots off three movies ago, the two knives that were in his boots now rested on the table.

Looking past him to Nat, she like her partner, had kicked off her boots, and now on the table rested seven knives and a small hand gun.

_So was pulling weapons out of boots considered a norm in this tower?_

Pulling my foot up I tried to discreetly pull the knife out of my boot, sliding it in my back pocket before toeing my boots off.

“Ya know, it’s not safe to knives in your back pocket, nor a Taser in a hoodie,” Clint murmured, too low for anyone else to hear, his eyes still fixed on the screen.

I tensed, he shifted next to me, slinging his arm around the back of the chair casually, squeezing my shoulder.

“Darce, nobody here is gonna tell you, you can’t carry something to defend yourself with. You don’t need to try and hide them,” he whispered.

I gave a slight smile.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, he nudged me.

“You don’t need to apologise,” he said, still not looking away from the screen.

Turning back to the movie, I put my legs towards Jane, trying to hide the metal and plastic from sight.

As the movie credits started to roll, the lights brightened and I yawned. Reaching down to pull my boots back on quickly.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed,” I said, standing up. I winced slightly, my prosthetic locking.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, seeing me wince.

“Fine. Just cramp in my foot,” I said, shaking my leg, Jane stood up, linking her arm in mine as it unlocked itself.

“I’m gonna head to bed too,” she said.

After a round of goodnights, Jane helped me limp to the stairs, I could feel several sets of eyes on me.

As soon as we were in the stairwell, I leant against the wall, massaging my thigh.

“You okay?” Jane asked, her hand on my arm.

“Fine,” I nodded through clenched teeth. “Just need to get to bed,”

I limped up to my apartment and Jane helped me to the door.

“If you need anything, just shout,” she said, I hugged her.

“Thanks,” I said. Wishing her goodnight I disappeared into my apartment, locking the door behind me.

Into the bedroom, I emptied my pockets as I pulled my boots off, followed by my pants.

I winced at the sight of my thigh. Swollen slightly where the prosthetic had dug into my skin. Undoing the straps I dropped it to the floor. Rubbing my stump, trying to get my circulation back. I carefully hopped into the bathroom, going through my nightly routine, carefully balanced. Hopping back into the bedroom, I changed into a pair of shorts and a large t-shirt. Collapsing back on my bed.

“Jarvis?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“Yes miss Lewis?” he asked.

“Can you please wake me up if anyone tries to get in,” I requested.

“ _Of course, Miss Lewis,” he_ said. I reached over, flicking off the light. Settling down I was asleep almost instantly.

**Chapter Two  
**

I woke up in a cold sweat, stifling a scream. The lights came on as soon as I opened my eyes.

“ _Miss Lewis?”_ Jarvis asked, a hint of urgency or concern in his voice. I jumped, startled at the sound of his voice. _“Miss Lewis. Are you okay? Would you like me to call somebody?”_

“No,” I snapped, looking around the room. _I was in the tower. Safe._ I swallowed, feeling slightly bad for snapping at the AI. “No, thank you Jarvis. I’m fine,” I said, taking a deep breath I reached out to check my phone. _5:18Am._ With a sight, I pushed my covers back, I hopped into a hot shower, leaning against the wall on one leg.

After a quick shower, I dressed in a pair of slightly baggy jeans, cursing as my leg trapped my pants leg. Grabbing a shirt and converse.

I breezed through my normal routine. Coffee, make-up, check Facebook, twitter, emails.

“Jarvis?” I asked. “Who else is up?”

“ _Agents Barton and Romanoff are in the gym. Captain Rogers is about to join them,” he_ said. I nodded. Looking over at the clock it wasn’t even six yet. Jane wouldn’t be up for a while and I didn’t need to be in work for several hours yet.

Remembering something Steve mentioned last night about an armoury and shooting range right next door to the gym I pulled myself up, grabbing a purple hoodie.

“Jarvis, what floor is the gym on?” I asked.

“ _Just follow the lights, Miss Lewis.”_

She followed the lights to the open gym door, leaning against the cool metal frame.

The gym was massive, there was every different type of gym equipment, to gymnastic beams and parallel bars. At one end there were sets of scaffolding and a climbing wall. Steve was on the mat, doing press-ups, I admired the sight of Captain America, shirtless, doing press-ups. His muscles flexing. Natasha and Clint were on one of the mats sparring. I watched them for a minute, it was like a dance, a deadly, yet graceful dance. Natasha spun and ducked, Clint rolled and jabbed.

My eyes were drawn to a large window to my left, behind it I could see a wall lined with rifles and hand guns as well as a range. Moving towards it I knew the three Avengers knew I was there, my left leg clunking slightly louder than my right as I walked. I didn’t look at them though just went straight through. Shutting the door behind me.

“Jarvis. Is it alright if I shoot?” I asked hesitantly. These weren’t my guns, nor my range.

“ _Yes, Miss Lewis. Help yourself to our large array of guns,”_ he replied.

Relaxing slightly, I scanned through the wall of guns before picking up a Beretta 92FS.

“ _Magazines for that particular weapon are in the drawer to your right,”_ Jarvis informed me. Pulling open the drawer, I grabbed the right clip.

Putting it on the table, Jarvis automatically moved a target in place. A light shining above the ear protectors and glasses. Grabbing both, I put them on, going through the normal checks before I cocked it and fired.

I went through two magazines before flicking the safety back on and pulling the target towards me. I tossed the ear protectors and glasses back on the table with a tired sigh.

Turning round I saw Clint, Steve and Natasha all stood behind the glass watching.

Steve, now wearing a shirt, looked somewhere between surprised and impressed.

Natasha stood with her arms folded, looking slightly impressed.

Clint’s face was a proud, yet surprised smirk. He pressed the button on the door walking in, he took the target out of my hand.

“Where did you learn to shoot like that?” he asked, his eyes drifting to the magazines, laying slightly separate from the gun, on the table.

“My brother taught me at a military base,” I shrugged. “Jarvis said I could be in here,” I added hesitantly.

“No, no you can,” he assured me. “Steve just wanted to make sure you knew what you were doing,”

I turned to look at Steve, biting my painted red lip, Steve looked away.

“I’m sure Jarvis can pull up a record of my licence,” I said.

“ _Miss Lewis, did in fact learn to shoot at Base Lewis when she was sixteen under specialist circumstances with-”_

“Thanks Jarvis,” I said forcefully, cutting him off. They didn’t need to know that I learnt to shoot in and out of a wheelchair in a special program that my brother helped set up, for ex veterans or disabled people living on base. “My brother set it up on a special program. I needed a new hobby after I stopped kickboxing."

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure it was safe,” Steve said. “I wasn’t implying that-” he stopped as Natasha flicked his arm, muttering something in another language that might have been Russian.

“Its fine,” I said, moving to pack everything away. “If you’ll excuse me I have to get to work.”

“You don’t have to be in work til nine,” Clint pointed to the clock that read 07:30.

I glared at him, continuing to pack away what I'd gotten out.

“You’re welcome to stick around here,” Natasha said, gesturing to the punch bags and mats. “You said you kickboxed? Maybe we could find out what else you can do,”

I hesitated pondering the idea, shifting on my leg, wishing I could say yes, and train like I used to.

“I don’t do that anymore,” I said truthfully. I tried once when I was nearing nineteen, my physical therapist said it might be good for me. But my prosthetic locked at the first kick, it cut into my leg and I needed eight stiches. “I’m sorry,” I added, unconsciously rubbing my thigh.

I put the glasses back on the shelf before walking past the three of them towards the door.

“Darce, wait up!” Clint called, and I paused, watching him jog to catch up with me. “Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes flicking down to my legs.

“I’m fine,” I said automatically.

“What did you do to your leg?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, too quickly. “Just an old dance injury,” It was technically true.

He stared at me for a minute before nodding.

“I’ll see you later,” he said. I nodded, smiling over at Steve and Natasha who were both watching us, I left.

Jogging back up to my apartment I scrubbed the smell of gun powder off my hands. It was nearing eight o’clock when I headed up to the lab. Pushing open the door I wasn’t that surprised to find all three scientists already working.

“Morning,” I said, heading over to the coffee machine, pouring my second cup.

“Good morning,” Bruce replied. Glancing over at Jane and Tony, it looked like they were bickering over one of Jane’s machines.

I rolled my eyes, moving over to an empty desk, I put my coffee on the desk, sitting back I watched them bicker.

**Chapter Three  
**

Ten days passed and I dressed in a red summer dress with a pair of black leggings. Today was the day my brother deployed and even if I couldn’t be there I’d still dress as if I were. Pulling my leather jacket on, I slid my knife into my boots and walked up to the labs, not bothering to apologise to an intern who’s papers I knocked everywhere.

Walking into the lab, Jane rushed forward and hugged me tightly, not saying anything. She pulled away, fully aware of Tony and Bruce’s confused and slightly concerned looks.

“Why are you here? You should be in Washington!” She said, staring at me.

“I can’t afford a plane ticket to Washington,” I hissed. “I called him last night. He understands."

“What’s the occasion, Lewis?” Tony asked, gesturing to my dress, and carefully curled hair.

“No occasion,” I lied,

It was nearing mid-day, after most of the morning staring at the clock and avoiding Jane’s sympathetic glances and Bruce and Tony’s concerned ones.

The door opened and Clint came in, Steve and Natasha hanging behind him.

“Jane, you’re gonna need to make do without Darcy for the afternoon,” Clint said, moving straight over to me, pulling me up out of the chair he scowled at me.

“Where are we going?” I asked, slightly hesitantly.

“Fort Lewis,” Clint said. My eyes widened, turning accusingly to Jane. “Not Janes fault. You should have said something."

“What’s at Fort Lewis?” Tony asked. I sighed.

“My brother,” I said. “He’s being deployed at 1500,”

Tony looked slightly taken aback. “Why aren’t you in Washington?” he asked.

“I don’t have a way to get there,” I muttered.

“Yes you do. We’re taking the quinjet,” Clint said, turning to leave. “Get your stuff, wheels up in 5!”

“Clint!” I called. He stopped, turning to face me. Rushing forward I hugged him tightly. “Thank you,” I mumbled. Pulling away, I grabbed my cell and purse, I said goodbye to Jane, Tony and Bruce before heading up to the quinjet with Natasha and Steve.

“When was the last time you saw your brother?” Steve asked, I shrugged.

“My mom’s funeral,” I said. “We’ve spoken, but with Thor and S.H.I.E.L.D. and everything, it’s been kind of hard,”

Walking up to the quinjet, Clint was already starting it up. “Buckle up,” he called. Natasha slid into the co-pilots seat as Steve sat next to me.

We spoke about when Steve first officially deployed and he glanced down to the two sets of dog tags that hung around his neck.

“Lewis tower. This is Agent Barton, Avengers Quinjet 0-0-1 requesting permission to land,” Clint said as we hovered above the air force base.

“ _What is the nature of your visit, Agent Barton?”_ A guy said. Clint glanced back at us.

_“Captain America is here to see the troops off, over,”_

“ _This is Lewis tower, permission to land, out,”_

The quinjet landed without a jolt and I practically jumped from my seat.

Natasha grabbed my arm.

“Wait,” she said, pulling my hood up. “Keep your head down until you’re in the crowd,” she advised.

I smiled.

Letting Steve and Natasha leave first, Clint and I waited, glancing over at him.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I said softly. Clint looked up, moving towards me.

“It’s okay,” he said, looking down the ramp as Natasha and Steve reached the crowd of families and soldiers. “I know you’re not sure yet, but you can trust us Darce. If there’s anything you else, you don’t have to, but can talk to any of us,”

I looked down guiltily. “There is,” I said after a minute. “Something else,” I clarified at his startled look. “Not now though. Later?”

Clint looked concerned but nodded.

After another moment of silence he looked down the ramp. “Head down remember,” he warned, before leading me down the ramp. I kept my head down, glancing back as the ramp pulled itself up.

We walked to the edge of the crowd and people were so busy focussing on Captain America and the Black Widow that they didn’t notice Clint or I.

Moving through the sea of people saying goodbye to loved ones, I couldn’t see Jake.

“Excuse me?” I said to a guy, who I recognised from the pictures Jake used to send home.

“Ma’am,” he nodded.

“I was wondering if you knew where Staff Sergeant Jacob Lewis is?” I asked.

“Right through there, Ma’am,” he said, pointing through the crowd, I grinned, getting a glimpse of who I was looking for.

“Thank you,” I said, the soldier nodded with a smile before turning back to his own small family.

Jake spotted me as I pushed through the crowd.

“D?” he muttered, I limped forward. Throwing my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “What are you doing here? I thought you said –”

“A couple of friends gave me a ride,” I said, turning to motion to Clint.

“Is that –”

“Uh huh,”

“How do you –”

“It’s classified,” Clint and I said together.

“Are you two like together?” he asked and I snorted, Clint looked at me with a hurt expression.

“Ew no. He’s like having a second you,” I said, Jake smiled, reaching out to shake Clint’s hand I turned to Chelsea, my sister in law ish.

Jake and Chelsea had been dating since I was thirteen, she was there for me through almost _everything._ My PTSD, losing my leg, going to Culver, they never got married though. She wanted to wait until she’d finish college. Last year though, she finished her advanced medical degree, a different version to what she did before.

I hugged her tightly.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

“Better,” I mumbled into her shoulder. “Not good, but better,”

She smiled slightly as I stepped back.

“So Peg leg, are you ever gonna tell me what this big new job is in New York?” Jake asked and I rolled my eyes at the nickname.

“I’m afraid that’s classified too,” I said regretfully.

“Darce, he’s family,” Clint said gently.

“I can tell him?” I asked in surprise. He nodded slightly. Grinning I scanned through the crowd locating Natasha and Steve. Clint tapped his hearing aid and muttered something. I watched as Natasha nudged Steve before making her way over here. “Jake, Chelsea, I’d like you to meet some friends of mine. Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, this is my brother Jake and his girlfriend Chelsea,”

Jake gaped at me, Chelsea looked slightly more composed by shocked still.

“You work for the Avengers?” he asked, making me shrug.

“Sort of. I work for Jane Foster, who’s sort of Thor’s girlfriend, who works for Tony Stark in the Avengers Tower. I’m living and working in the top floors of the tower,” I explained briefly.

“Do me a favour?” he asked. “Promise me you won’t tell dad?” Jake’s face became more serious, Chelsea’s smile became a thin line and I glared at the floor. “He’ll just ruin this for you. Or he’ll use this to boast to people,” I nodded.

“I wasn’t planning to,” I said bitterly

A bell across the courtyard rung. I hugged Jake tightly, pulling Chelsea in.

“You two stay safe,” he said, kissing the top of my head. Chelsea stepped back to give us a moment as Jake stroked my hair back. “You look like mom. You’re so beautiful. She’d be proud of you, ‘nd so am I,”

“Be careful,” I said, smiling up at him. “I love you,”

“I love you too, peg leg,” he looked at the three Avengers over my head. “Look after her?”

“We will, you have my word,” Steve said despite the roll of my eyes.

“The word of Captain America,” Jake mumbled, hugging me one more time before kissing Chelsea, murmuring something to her before grabbing his kit bag and walking away.

I leant into Steve’s side as I watched him walk away, reaching out I squeezed Chelsea’s hand. We watched him, walk up the ramp of the plane and disappear from sight.

I sighed, watching the plane take off, as it faded into the clouds, the crowd started to disperse. Even though I’d stood here half a dozen times before, watching him leave, something told me this one was different. I couldn’t get rid of the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“I should go,” Chelsea said softly with a slight sniff. “I have to get to work,”

I reached out hugging her again.

“If you need _anything_ just call,” I muttered.

“Likewise,” she replied pulling away. “It was nice meeting you,” she looked to the three Avengers who nodded.

Chelsea glanced back up at the sky before disappearing towards the exit, pushing through the crowds. By this time more and more people had started to notice Steve, Natasha and Clint were still here.

“We should go,” I said, seeing a bunch of teenage girls head towards us.

Steve nodded, pulling my hood back up I ducked my head, hoping nobody got a good look at my face.

Boarding the quinjet I slumped down into the seat, my head resting on Steve’s shoulder.

I paid little attention til we had landed, and as soon as the doors were open I pulled away. Walking straight down the stairs to the communal floor I headed straight for the bar. Pulling out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. Throwing a glass back I smiled slightly as it burnt the back of my throat.

After a while Jane or Natasha, it might’ve even been Clint came and cut me off.

I staggered back down to my apartment, collapsing on my couch. The last thing I remember was kicking my shoes, socks and leggings off. Leaving me to sleep in just my dress.

**Chapter Four  
**

I woke with a groan, trying to drown out the banging on the door, which was only making the thumping in my head worse.

“Darcy!” Clint yelled, his voice sounding worried. “Darcy, if you don’t open this door in the next five seconds I will break this lock,” he threatened.

I sat up, my head groggy, looking down I realised I wasn’t wearing any pants, or anything to cover my leg. Swearing softly, I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, carefully laying it over my leg.

“Let him in please, Jarvis,” I muttered, checking to make sure my leg was covered.

The door swung open and I was surprised to find not only Clint but Natasha too, both looking slightly concerned.

“Where have you bee-” He broke off as his eyes landed on the bottle of scotch sitting on the table.

“I was sleeping,” I said, scowling at him.

“Passed out more like,” he muttered. “What’s with the blanket? It’s like ninety degrees in here?” he asked, looking pointedly at my rolled up sleeves.

“I felt like having a blanket. Is that a problem?” I snapped, slightly harsher than intended. Clint looked slightly hurt as Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Sorry, ‘m just tired,” I muttered, he shook his head, reaching down to grab my blanket, I tensed, gripping the edges of the soft material tighter.

“Darce?” he asked, suspicion lacing his voice. “Seriously, what’s with the blanket?”

“It’s nothing,” I said, pulling it closer to me. Both spies stared at me, clearly saying they knew I was hiding something. Looking around my apartment, I sighed, not seeing a way out of this. “Promise you won’t get mad at me?”

“Why would we be mad at you?” Natasha asked.

“Just, please,” I said. Looking up at her, begging her to understand. After a second she nodded.

“We promise,” Clint said.

“And promise you won’t treat me any different?”

“Darce, what’s going on?” Clint asked. I looked at him desperately. “Alright we promise,” he repeated.

Taking a deep breath I shooed them backwards slightly. Shifting the blanket, I stood up, tossing it back on the couch. My dress came just above where my leg joined to my thigh, giving them a clear view of the scarred flesh. I looked down in shame as Clint swore and Natasha muttered something in another language.

“Darcy –,” Clint broke off, not knowing what to say, pity lacing his voice. Tears stung my eyes as I turned to walk away he grabbed my arm making me freeze, turning back to him. “I’m sorry. What happened?” he asked, slightly unsure of what to say.

I stared between Natasha and him for a minute before dropping back down on the couch and explaining.

I went through everything, my dance classes, to waking up after the surgery, to how I actually learnt to shoot.

By the time I’d finished I was exhausted. I slumped back into the couch, watching the two spies’ reactions carefully. I expected pity, but I was pleasantly surprised as Clint smiled slightly.

“Huh,” he said. “That explains a lot,” I raised my eyebrow in confusion. “You walk with a constant limp, one of your pants legs is always baggier than the other, you stand unbalanced when you shoot and it looks like you’re in pain when you lean on your left leg for too long,”

I stared at Clint for a minute.

“Why the hell do you pay that much attention to my legs?” I exclaimed, Natasha snorted slightly.

“Why did you think we’d be mad at you?” she asked, changing the subject. I shrugged looking down at the floor. “Darcy,” she prompted.

“I thought you’d leave,” I snapped after a minute, glaring up at her. “I thought you’d leave, like people do,” I muttered. “Every time people find out I’ve lost a leg its pity and sympathy. ‘Don’t do this,’ ‘you can’t do that.’ They tell me what do and then leave,” I looked away.

I felt the couch shift as someone sat down next to me.

“Tasha,” Clint said, his voice holding a hint of warning. A soft hand on my arm made me flinch slightly, turning around, Natasha watched me carefully. Something flickered across her eyes before she hugged me.

“Nobody here is going to tell you how to do stuff and then leave you,” she muttered, before pulling away. I smiled gratefully.

“Thank you, Natasha,”

“Friends call me Nat, or Tasha,” she said.

.

I woke up the next day and smiled. Sure, things weren’t perfect, but if Clint and Natasha were okay with it and didn’t treat me any different. Maybe the others wouldn’t either.

I went through my normal routine before heading up to the labs. Jane, as usual was already there. She looked up as I came in, practically skipping forwards, I threw my arms around her.

“I told Clint and Natasha,” I mumbled into her hair.

Jane hugged me tighter.

“I’m proud of you Darce,” she said as she pulled away.

“Me too,” I said. “Now,” I turned away. “What sciencey stuff are we doing today?”

Jane’s eyes brightened as she started rambling on about god knows what.

**Chapter Five  
**

Over the next week, things in the lab got weird, Tony kept staring at me whenever I moved around or bought him food. Bruce kept glaring at him, whenever he started staring, and after nearly a full week of it, it was too much.

“Is there a problem?” I snapped as I walked into the lab one particularly bad morning. Tony looked slightly taken aback.

“No?” he said, sounding slightly unsure.

“Well clearly there is, or you wouldn’t keep staring,” I said, glaring at him. His eyes drifted down, settling on my leg. “You know?” I breathed. Confusion settled across Tony’s face as Jane and Bruce stepped forward.

“Know what?” Bruce asked, sounding just as confused.

_Shit._

With a sigh, I swung my leg up onto a table, with a thud.

Pulling my jeans up to my knee showing them the heavy metal.

“I don’t have a leg, big deal,” I snapped angrily. Swinging my foot back to the floor I pulled my pants leg back in place before turning straight back out of the lab, going quickly back down to my apartment, I changed into a pair of shorts and a racerback tank top. I pulled on a pair of trainers before heading down to the gym.

It was surprisingly empty, which made a change.

Moving over to the punch bag, I carefully wrapped my hands, stretching my fingers it felt weird having the wraps on again. Flicking my ponytail over my shoulder. I hit the bag.

1, 2. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3, 4.

After a minute the muscle memory kicked in and I set up a steady rhythm. I bounced on the balls of my feet.

I didn’t stop as the doors opened, I listened as someone hung around, watching me. After nearly five minutes I stopped, breathing heavily, I leant against the bag for a second before turning to find Steve stood in the doorway watching me with a look somewhere between surprise and admiration.

“I’m sorry,” he said looking away as he realised I caught him staring. “I didn’t mean to stare,”

“Its fine,” I shrugged, pulling one of the wraps undone with my teeth. Looking up at Steve again, the look of curiosity on his face. “They took it when I was sixteen. It was the only chance I had to walk again,” I said in way of an explanation. Steve nodded in understanding.

Before either of us could say anything else the doors were thrown open and Jane marched in.

“There you are!” She exclaimed. Then looked between me and the punch bag and sighed. “And how exactly are you planning on walking up seventeen flight’ of stairs like that?”

I followed her line of sight to my leg and grimaced slightly. The prosthetic had dug into my thigh. The skin near my stump was swollen and red. Pressing my fingers against it I hissed slightly.

“I’ll manage,” I shrugged, looking back up to Jane. Pulling my arms into my hoodie, zipping it halfway up, I shoved my cell back into my pocket and headed past Jane towards the door.

“See you later, Steve,” I called out. Pushing through the door, I headed down the corridor to the stairs. Ignoring the growing pain in my leg, I started upwards.

Ten floors up and I slid down the wall, clutching my leg.

I turned to see Jane leaning against the wall several stairs below.

“I totally overreacted in the lab earlier didn’t I?” I muttered.

“A little,” she shrugged, moving to sit next to me.

“Is Stark mad at me?” I asked,

“No,” Jane said, taking me by surprise slightly. “He was surprised. Now he’s shut himself in his lab and won’t tell anyone what he’s planning. Bruce was calling Pepper when I left,”

“At least I don’t have to hide it anymore. That’s one thing, I guess,” I sighed. Jane reached out and squeezed my hand.

“C’mon,” she said, standing up. “Let’s get you outta here,”

She helped me to my feet, and swinging my arm over her shoulder it took us another ten minutes to climb seven stories.

Jarvis thankfully opened all the doors for us and as soon as I was in my apartment I collapsed on my couch, pulling the prosthetic off, dropping it to the floor.

“I’ll put some coffee on,” Jane said, disappearing behind me into the kitchen.

I slumped back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. A loud knock on the door made my head shoot up. Turning to glare at Jane.

“My apartment. I’ve got it,” I said. She held her hands up in surrender and rolled her eyes. Turning back to getting out mugs.

Pulling myself off the couch, I shuffled around the coffee table and then hopped to the front door. Leaning against the wall, I pulled it open slightly.

I stared slightly. Tony was the last person I was expecting to see.

“Erm, come in?” I said. Hopping backwards, pulling the door further open. Without waiting for him to come in, I hopped straight back over to the couch, dropping back down.

In Tony’s defence his eyes only flickered down to my stump for a second, before looking back up to my face.

“Do you want coffee?” Jane asked, setting mine and her mugs on the table.

“Erm, sure,” Tony said. Looking slightly uncomfortable as he shut the door, a tablet in his hand. Jane, put another cup of coffee on the table closest to the armchair. “Thanks,” he said, sitting down on the edge of the chair.

“So, what can we do for you?” I asked, slightly unsure of what was happening. Tony’s eyes flickered down to my prosthetic, laying a couple of feet away from him.

“Can I –” He gestured down to it.

“Sure,” I said slowly, glancing at Jane who just shrugged.

Tony snatched my leg up from the floor and inspected it closely.

“How long have you had this?” he asked curiously.

“Since I was sixteen,” I replied. My own curiosity growing.

“You’ve never had another?” he verified, I shook my head. “You know, with the amount you use this. You should have really replaced it after five years,”

“What has this got to do with anything?” I snapped, my eyes narrowing.

“I can design you a new prosthetic,” he said bluntly. “Fully mobile. A permanent prosthesis, you won’t have to take it off every night. It will literally be like having a new leg,” Tony explained. My breath caught in my throat. Reaching out I clutched Jane’s hand tightly.

Questions raced through my mind.

“What – What are you talking about?” I stuttered.

“When I went through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files there was something from decades ago. Years ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists helped build a prosthetic, it connected to the nerve endings and whoever it was, had complete control over it. They had full mobility over their fingers. If that was years ago, Bruce and I, we could build something far more advanced,” Tony said. “But we won’t. If you don’t want it,”

I stared at him, looking for any hint that he was lying or trying to joke. But he looked sincere.

Reaching forwards he placed the StarkPad on the coffee table, tapping the screen twice the hologram lit up, showing blueprints for a prosthetic leg. It spun slowly in the air and my eyes flew across the print, taking in everything I’d be able to do with this leg.

By the time I finished my eyes were burning as hope surged through me.

“You can actually do this?” I asked, my voice wavering slightly. Tony nodded. “Why would you though? What’s the catch?” I asked. _There was always a catch._

“No catch. I don’t want anything in return, but you do deserve this,” he said, sounding very un-Tony Stark. A list of reasons ran through my mind for why I _didn’t_ deserve this, but I pushed it away.

My eyes were drawn back to the projection. Jane squeezed my hand.

The words my father yelled at me when I was ten came to mind. _“You’re selfish. Not giving a damn about anybody but yourself,”_

I smirked, maybe being selfish wasn’t such a bad thing if I got to make my life a little easier.

“Do it,” I said, my voice stronger than before. “Please, please make this,” I turned back to Tony who grinned brightly. Reaching forward he snatched the tablet off the table, making the image disappear.

“Right then,” he said, suddenly back to business, standing up. “Jarvis do a full body scan of Darcy and get Bruce to the labs, also send a message to Pepper about Betty Ross and that job offer,”

“ _Certainly sir,”_ Jarvis said.

“As great as coffee with you has been it seems I have some work to do,” he said. “Lewis, I will send you the blueprints, if there’s anything you want to change just let us know. If anybody needs me I’ll be in the labs,” And with that, he left as randomly as he came.

I stared at the back of the door for a minute in shock.

_I was getting a new leg. A new, proper working leg!_

Turning to Jane I grinned, practically throwing myself at her.

“Jane –,” I breathed.

“I know,” she replied, hugging me tightly.

**Chapter Six _  
_**

Over the next few weeks I kind of abandoned my work with Jane, spending most of my time in Tony’s lab.

He had in fact got Bruce’s ex, Betty Ross, a Biochemist who I vaguely remember seeing on campus at Culver, who also happened to be an expert on Bio-Tech. So apparently between her and Bruce they’d be able to guarantee full mobility.

Along with them, Tony had also bought in Doctor Helen Cho, a young South Korean Doctor from half way across the world, who was a world-renowned geneticist who was working on something to help rebuild skin and tissue, potentially even bone. But that technology wasn’t quite there yet, so she signed a contract, accepting Stark’s funding, just like Jane had.

Tony made sure they triple checked everything, so the metals wouldn’t cause any damage, and between the four crazy scientists in just under three weeks I sat staring at what Betty called a convertor.

“Basically, this will be surgically attached to the end of your stump, and it will connect to your nerves, giving you feeling, and the ability to move the prosthesis,” she explained. “Once this is attached, we’ll have to wait around ten days for it to heal before we can connect the actual leg. Whilst it heals, you won’t be able to wear a prosthetic,”

I paused, if I couldn’t wear my prosthetic, I knew I couldn’t manage ten days with a set of crutches, they threw my balance, and the last time I tried those, it went very badly.

“So for those ten days I’m going to be confined to a chair,” I said, images of a fifteen year old me, in a wheelchair flashed to mind. They looked at me sympathetically. “So, how long til we can do this?”

.

Two days later, my bag in hand I walked out of the stairwell into medical.

Betty looked up from her tablet and smiled at me.

“Darcy, this way,” she said, leading me into a private room, with just a bed, a couple of chairs and a cupboard. “You’ll need to get changed,” she gestured to the clothes at the foot of the bed. “And I’ll come back. Your surgery is gonna be in about an hour,” she said before drifting out, shutting the door behind her.

I sighed, dropping my bag on one of the chairs. I changed into a pair of really short shorts and a paper hospital gown. Folding my own clothes on top of my bag, I pulled myself up on the bed.

I pulled my prosthetic off, leaning it against the night stand, running my hand over my stump.

Before my thoughts started to drift the door opened and Betty stepped back in. She went through a load of medical questions, ticking boxes on her tablet. Jane appeared as she was taking my blood pressure, she didn’t say anything, just gave a supportive smile, sitting done next to me.

“Steve was asking about you,” Jane said when Betty left to get Doctor Cho. I raised my eyebrow at my friend. “Oh, come on. You’ve been spending a lot of time with him recently,” she said wiggling her eyebrows.

I scoffed, throwing a pillow at her.

“He’s nice,” I said.

“Nice?” Jane laughed. “Have you seen him? Never mind, I know you’ve seen him shirtless. He’s like fitter than fit,” she said. “Not as nice as Thor, but still…”

I looked over at her in amusement, a faint blush across her cheeks.

“He’s also Captain America,” I pointed out, snapping her out of whatever fantasy she was having.

“And?”

“ _And…”_ I hesitated. _How was him being Captain America a downside? If anything…_ I pushed those thoughts away, shaking my head. “Can we please talk about this after I have potentially life changing surgery?” I could not deal with thinking about Steve right now. Besides, when it comes to guys I do nothing more than friends, or the occasional one night stand after a bottle of tequila.

Jane smile went from teasing to soft as she moved to sit next to me, her arm going around my shoulders, I dropped my head down to her shoulder.

“It’s going to be fine,” she assured me gently.

“But what if it’s not?” I asked, chewing my lip.

“C’mon, Tony’s hired _the_ best people in the world for this,” she said.

“Is someone doubting me?” We both spun round to see Tony leaning against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets. “Was that doubt I just heard?” he accused as he stepped forwards. “Lewis, I am offended that you think _my_ design might not work,” he said, a teasing hint in his voice. “When have you known something of mine to not work?”

I opened my mouth to remind him about the machine he was building a couple of weeks ago that literally blew up in his face.

“Don’t answer that,” he said quickly. “But this,” His voice softened slightly. “This will work, I promise,” I stared at him for a minute.

“Thank you,” I breathed, smiling slightly. He grimaced at the sappy moment and quickly left as Betty came back in, putting a drip in the back of my hand.

Doctor Cho appeared in the doorway with a syringe.

“You ready?” she asked. Settling back on the bed I nodded, I followed Cho’s movements as she attached the syringe to the drip, slowly pushing the plunger.

It started to take effect in seconds, I sunk back into the pillows and everything went black.

.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep…_

I winced slightly at the noise.

I groggily opened my eyes, groaning slightly at the light.

“Here,” Clint said quietly from my right, pressing my glasses into my hand. Sliding them up my nose, I blinked as everything came back into focus. Jane was curled up in the armchair in the corner asleep.

“What time is it?” I mumbled, trying to sit up.

“A little after one am,” he said, putting a steadying hand on my arm, helping me sit up.

I hesitated slightly before pushing my blankets away. My stump was wrapped in pristine white bandages but there was a distinct lump under the end. Reaching out I brushed my fingers over it. Feeling the metal underneath, a ghost of a smile traced my lips.

“It worked?” I asked, looking up at Clint.

“As far as they can tell,” he said with a slight nod. Tears stung my eyes but I blinked them away. “I need to let Betty know you’re awake. I’ll be right back,”

I nodded, watching as he disappeared into the corridor.

Jane groaned in the corner, blinking several times before stretching out. Her eyes widened as she realised I was awake.

“You’re awake!” She gasped, sitting up, moving over to stand next to me.

“Clint went to get Betty,” I said with a nod.

“How are you feeling?” she asked. Before I could answer the door opened again, and Clint followed Betty inside.

“Very good question,” she said, moving to stand the other side of the bed, checking the drip and pulling a StarkPad from my nightstand.

“I’m fine. A little drowsy,” I shrugged.

“That’s to be expected,” she nodded. “Do you have a headache? Nausea? Pain?”

I shook my head.

“Okay. Everything seems to be fine,” she said as she checked my bandages. “Try and get some rest and I’ll come back and check on you in the morning,”

“Betty,” I called out as she turned to leave. She turned back. “Thank you,”

“Get some rest she said,” With a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, before shutting the door behind her.

“Tasha and Steve are out on a mission. They got called out a couple of hours ago, Pepper finally dragged Tony outta here at about ten,” Clint said. I smiled slightly.

“When can I go home?” I asked.

“Tomorrow, today. Whatever. They said you need to get some rest and then they’ll see how you are,” Jane said.

“Get some sleep,” Clint said. “We’ll be here when you wake up,”

Tossing my glasses on the nightstand I let myself sink back into the pillows, sleep taking over.

.

When I woke again, Clint was sitting in the vent, his legs hanging down casually as he fiddled with an arrowhead. Jane sat curled up in the chair still, a StarkPad in her hands, typing furiously.

I grabbed my glasses off of the nightstand, shoving them unceremoniously on my face as Betty chose that particular moment to walk in.

“Ah, you’re awake,” she said, making Clint and Jane both look up at me in surprise. “How’re you feeling?”

“Good,” I said truthfully. Maybe it was the fact that I’d got hours of solid sleep or the fact that the surgery went well. I didn’t care.

“Well,” she said looking down at her tablet. “It looks like you’re good to go home,” she said with a smile. “Barton can make himself useful by getting out of the vents and go and get a chair,”

Clint muttered something, before dropping down from the vent, sliding the arrow into his back pocket and disappeared out the door.

He came back less than a minute later, whistling a random theme tune I couldn’t place as he parked next to my bed.

“Your transportation, ma’am,” he said in a perfect British accent, tipping his invisible hat.

I rolled my eyes as I pushed back the covers, Clint lifted me off the bed, straight into the chair, ignoring my protests, making me pinch his arm.

Betty gave me a pot of painkillers, and a couple of instructions on what I can and can’t do, then with her nod, Clint wheeled me down the corridor.

“Where to?” he asked, stopping in front of the elevator as Jane stood next to me.

“My apartment,” I said. He hummed an affirmative pushing me inside the elevator as soon as the doors opened and I cringed watching the doors slide shut, trapping me inside.

One of Clint’s hands came to rest on my shoulder grounding me.

“Breathe,” he reminded me softly and I forced myself to take a deep breath in.

His thumb rubbed the back of my neck until the elevator came to a stop and Jane moved to the side, letting me get out of there as quickly as possible.

He pushed me inside my apartment, and Jane shooed him away, pushing me into my bedroom as Clint dropped down on the couch.

Jane dug through my closet picking out some shorts and a baggy t-shirt before helping me in the bathroom. I couldn’t have a proper bath for another twelve hours but I wiped the feel of the hospital away with a washcloth. Moving back into the bedroom, I brushed out my hair and put on a bit of makeup to make myself feel a little more normal.

Finally, happy Jane took me back into the living room.

“I have no food and I’m hungry,” I declared.

“Communal floor it is then,” Clint said standing up. Jane let him push me back out to the elevator and I stared out of the window as soon as the doors closed and Clint’s hand went back to my shoulder.

Considering Jane could burn water, she helped me up onto the breakfast bar stools as Clint started cooking. My mouth watered as he set a full English breakfast (besides the mushrooms and cooked tomatoes because they were disgusting).

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” I asked, inhaling the smell of the fry up.

“Not recently,” Clint said, sliding a cup of coffee towards me.

“I love you,” I declared seriously, downing a mouthful of my coffee, making him chuckle.

“ _Captain Rogers and Agent Romanoff have just arrived back in the tower,”_ Jarvis announced after a moment of eating in silence.

“Are they okay?” I asked.

“ _My scanners indicate that neither of them sustain serious injuries. Captain Rogers has a couple of bruises, and Agent Romanoff has a cut on her side which she stitched up herself. She would like me to inform you that they’re cleaning up,”_ Jarvis said.

Twenty minutes later Nat appeared Steve not far behind her. They both looked okay, Steve had a bruise across his cheek, but it was already healing.

“How are you, малютка?” Nat asked softly.

“Good,” I assured her, looking slightly confused at the малютка, running languages through my head I placed it as Russian although I had no idea what it meant.

She smiled at me, before moving round to Clint, she kissed him softly and as she stepped back he tugged the edge of her shirt up to see a white gauze, he tugged the edge of it back and inspected the stitches making her roll her eyes. Satisfied, he pressed it back in place and moved to the sink to wash his hands

“Are you cooking?” she asked, sliding into a seat next to Steve. Clint groaned and with a dramatic roll of his eyes he turned back to the stove.

“You owe me, Romanoff,” he declared, glancing over his shoulder at her.

“I’m sure I can make it up to you later,” she said with a slight shrug. Jane choked on her coffee as Clint hesitated, looking over at Nat with a smirk.

“We’ll see,” he said, tipping some bacon onto Steve’s plate, Steve had a faint pink tinge across his cheeks.

“Aw, now look what you’ve done. You’ve embarrassed a National Icon,” I teased with a slight laugh.

Steve was in the army, was sort of with Peggy Carter, went on tour with chorus girls and I’m 90% sure there was something more than just friendship with Bucky Barnes, but he still blushed like a virgin at every remotely sex related conversation.

Clint snorted. “So I shouldn’t mention that time when we were in that club in Budapest and –” he broke off as a dish towel smacked him in the face.

“Don’t you dare,” Natasha warned, a deadly glint in her eye.

Clint looked slightly sheepish as he turned back to the burning eggs.

**Chapter Five  
**

It was official. I _hated_ being in a wheelchair.

I’d scuffed several door frames, trying to manoeuvre round. I’d run several people’s feet over, multiple times. I had to use the elevator every time I wanted to go somewhere, and every time I went in said elevator alone I had a panic attack and after Clint found me, out of my chair outside the gym hyperventilating, I wasn’t allowed in the elevator alone.

Which even if nobody said anything, they must have found annoying. I couldn’t cook for myself, I couldn’t reach the coffee machine, and when I was on the gym floor, all of the guns were on a shelf, too high for me to reach, so I had to get someone to come with me and move things, I felt like I was 16 again and it sucked. A part of me knew a good chunk of my frustration was down to internalised ableism and the fact I was living in an inaccessible building but still, it was frustrating.

I curled up on the couch in the common room, watching the Breakfast Club, _again._

Jane was out of town for today and tomorrow, doing some presentation at a college, so I was spending more time on the communal floors so as not to inconvenience people.

The elevator flashed and I glanced over my shoulder to see Steve, Clint and Nat walk in, looking like they’d just come from the gym.

“Problems?” Nat asked, looking from my annoyed expression to my chair which was lying near the kitchen on its side from where it had hit into the counter.

“Not at all,” I muttered bitterly, turning back to the TV.

“And these children that you spit on…” Clint quoted, dropping over the back of the couch, down into the conversation pit.

“What?” Steve moved to sit next to me, looking at us in confusion.

Reaching forward I grabbed the remote, flicking the movie back to the start as the quote came up.

“… _And these children  
that you spit on  
as they try to change their worlds  
are immune to your consultations.  
They’re quite aware  
of what they’re going through…”_

_-David Bowie._

“Steve, it’s time to be educated on the best movie _ever,”_ I said.

“I thought you said Cool Runnings was the best movie ever?” Steve muttered in confusion.

“Ssh. That’s the best _true story_ movie ever,” I said, waving my hand.

“And this is?”

“The story that _everybody_ can relate to since 1984,”

Tony, Pepper, Bruce and Betty appeared ten minutes in, settling down with bowls of popcorn and drinks.

It was nearing an hour in and Steve asked yet another explanation for a pop culture reference and I leant forward, grabbing a serviette off the table and stealing the pen from behind Clint’s ear I started a list.

“Everything you don’t understand, write down, so you can look it up later,” I suggested. He nodded, taking the napkin, tucking it and Clint’s pen in his pocket.

As the credits rolled I smiled slightly.

 _Everyone_ could relate to the Breakfast club, even Captain America.

.

As it started to get late, pizza boxes scattered everywhere Bruce and Betty were the first to disappear, about five minutes between them but we all knew they were going to the same place. They were totally together, and if they didn’t want to tell us then that was fine.

Pepper dragged Tony off and Steve disappeared ten minutes later.

“You don’t have to wait for me, I’ll be fine,” I tried to assure the two spies.

“Betty said you shouldn’t be too far away from someone, in case something happens and Jane isn’t here,” Clint said slightly hesitantly.

“We have a spare room. You’re staying at ours the night,” Nat said bluntly, Clint winced slightly at her tone but nodded.

Glancing between them I sighed, pulling myself up, I hopping up the steps, with Clint’s steadying hand on my arm. I balanced on him as Nat picked my chair up, wheeling it towards me with ease. I let them push into the elevator, I looked out at the lights of the city.

Reaching their, Clint’s, apartment, he pushed me straight through into the guest room, Natasha following behind, my duffel bag in her hand and I didn’t bother asking where she got my stuff from.

“Thanks,” I said softly as they turned to leave.

“If you need _anything_ just call,” Nat said. I nodded in return and Clint shut the door softly behind them.

Carefully going through my nightly routine, I settled into bed, tracing patterns over the metal on my leg, and somewhere between one loop and another, sleep took over.

.

I woke mid-morning, carefully hopping into the kitchen where Tasha sat at the breakfast bar with a bowl of cereal and a mug of tea, still dressed in her workout clothes and somehow still managing to look flawless as her shirt stuck to her back and as though she’d just ran several miles.

“Good morning, малютка. Clint is hogging the shower. He’s been in there nearly an hour,” she said with a hint of exasperation.

“Malytoka?” I asked, and then winced slightly at how I butchered the accent. Nat just laughed.

“Maly-u-tka. Your accent is terrible,” she laughed, looking slightly appalled at the same time, and how she did that, I had no idea.

“I took Italian, Korean, Spanish, and German. Excuse me for never perfecting a Russian accent,” I said, pulling myself to sit on a stool next to her.

“If you can perfect a German accent you can perfect a Russian,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“What does it mean?” Nat raised an eyebrow. “Malyutka?” I said, speaking slowly to perfect the word. Tasha gave a soft smile in praise.

“Nothing bad,” she assured me. She was interrupted by her bedroom door opening and Clint stepping out in just a pair of blue jeans.

“Tasha my batteries are dead again,” he said, his voice much louder than normal. Several thoughts about what that could mean came to mind but I pushed them away. Deciding it was probably better if I didn’t know.

Natasha spun round to face him. Moving her hands swiftly through the air and my mouth dropped open as I recognised the signs.

_Your spares are in the table over there. Why don’t you just speak to Stark about something that doesn’t run out of power every two weeks?_

Clint rolled his eyes but didn’t reply as he walked across the room, kneeling at the coffee table he pulled open a draw and dug around for a minute before pulling out a small black box, flicking the lid open with his thumb, he slid the hearing aids in his ears.

“Huh,” I said, realising what had just happened. Both Clint and Natasha turned to me as if remembering I was here.

 _I didn’t know you were deaf._ I signed.

Both spies watched me in shock.

 _I didn’t know you could sign._ Clint retaliated.

I shrugged.

 _My father was partly deaf, he never wore his hearing aids so I learnt to sign._ I hesitated slightly as I signed the word ‘father’. Even ten years later it didn’t seem right to call him that.

“Why is none of this in your file?” Clint asked aloud.

“You’ve read my file?” I asked, a list of what I’d made visible in my file ran through my head.

“Not the point,” Clint waved it off. “Your leg wasn’t, no medical history from when you were twelve onwards. Your father’s information is vague, up until Jane the only notable people are your mother, brother and his girlfriend,”

“Good,” I stated. Proud that my hacking I’d done after New Mexico had actually worked.

“It’s like you were on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar, but you weren’t,” he said, pressing the button on the coffee machine.

“Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D.’s big scary radar isn’t as good as people think it is,” I said with light shrug. Clint and Nat exchanged an unreadable look, but dropped the subject as Clint slid a mug of steaming coffee towards me.

“ _Miss Lewis, Sir is requesting your presence in the gym,”_ Jarvis announced after several minutes of silence. _Tony was in the gym?_

I looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

“Why?” I asked, racking my brain for any plans we might have made or briefly mentioned that I’d forgotten about.

“ _I’m not at liberty to say, but he does press that it is important and you’ll love it,”_ Jarvis said.

Glancing between Clint and Nat, they both shrugged, looking just as confused.

“Can he wait ten minutes?”

“ _Miss Potts says he can,”_

Clint snorted and Nat gave a slight smile.

“I’ll be there in ten,” I said, sliding off of the barstool and hopping back to the spare room.

In eight minutes I was dressed with my hair and make-up done, foregoing a shoe I slid into my chair, pushing myself back out into the lounge only scraping the door frame slightly.

Clint rolled his eyes, moving behind me to take control as Nat opened the front door with a casual "I like my pantwork in tact, thanks."

The elevator ride down was thankfully short and I was distracted, confused about whatever Tony was up too, too busy thinking to worry about the confined space.

The gym doors slid open automatically and my eyes widened at what I saw.

Tony, Pepper, Betty, Bruce, Jane (when had she gotten back?) and an unfamiliar, dark skinned women were stood around two very familiar physio bars, a table on which a sleek black case marked _Stark Industries_ sat and Tony was leaning against a black medical couch.

“W-what’s going on?” I asked, as Clint parked me next to the couch.

“We’ve decided for the sake of the towers door frames and painted furniture, that the quicker you can walk again the better,” Tony said, rolling his eyes as Pepper elbowed him in the gut.

“I don’t understand,” I said, looking between the several scientists and CEO for an answer.

“Looking at the rate of your healing we’ve come to the conclusion that connecting your prosthetic now would be no different to waiting three more days,” Betty said softly.

“Wait, are you saying –” I broke off, gaping at her as she nodded. “So I can have the prosthetic fitted, and walk again at the same time,” I gave the bars a pointed look.

“You will be able to walk straight away yes, but not as before, it’s going to take some time and physio for you to be able to walk everywhere again,” Betty said.

“I believe that’s where I come in,” The unfamiliar women said, stepping forward, she brushed her dark curls over her shoulder. “My names Charlotte Lahey, I’m a physiotherapist that specialises in amputees, although I do normally work with the VA,” she said shaking my hand. “I also don’t normally work with this advanced technology, so we’re not quite sure how long it’s going to take for you to be walking normally again,” she glanced over at the black box on the table.

“Let’s get started,” Tony said, clapping his hands. Nat held out a hand, balancing me as I pushed myself up on the couch, turning and laying in a half sitting position.

Tony lifted the lid of the box and my eyes widened again.

Laying on the soft foam was a metal leg, the silver glinting as the light hit it. It looked as if it was made up of small plates only a couple of centimetres in size. They were connected together at all sides, giving a smooth finish. I watched as Tony carefully lifted it, putting it at the bottom of my stump I gulped.

Sure I’d seen the blueprints and holograms, but looking at it like this was surreal.

“Ready?” he asked, looking up at me, I gave a slight nod, vaguely aware that Jane had moved round the other side and had taken my hand.

Tony shifted the leg, pressing it against the converter, it made a quiet whirring sound as it clicked into place, Tony’s hand moved to check the connections making me tense slightly. Jane squeezed my hand in reassurance as he glanced up at me and I nodded for him to go ahead, pushing everything else away, focussing on what was happening.

“It’s going to come online in stages, feeling will come down your leg in stages. If it’s too much we can turn it off, go slower, whatever,” Tony said and I nodded again.

The leg clicked again and I gasped, it was weird, as the feeling slowly spread to the knee, it was like when your leg goes numb because you’ve slept on it, and the feeling slowly comes back, and it aches but in a good way. A tear ran down my cheek as the toes, _my_ toes, twitched. _Holy shit I could feel my toes!_ I could _move_ my toes again. Experimentally I wriggled my toes on my right leg than on my left, I bent my right knee, then slowly brought my left up. The plates moved in the same way my skin would, I couldn’t explain it. They smoothed back together every time I moved.

I gave made a sound, somewhere between a laugh and a sob as I reached out to trace over the surprisingly warm metal, I ran my fingers from the metal, over the converter, which now blended in with the rest of my leg now, and up over the scars, it was all the same temperature. Tracing my fingers over my knee again, another tear rolled down my cheek as I realised I could actually feel it again.

I could feel the leather couch under my toes, it felt different than my right leg, but it still felt. It was still there and fuck was it good.

I don’t know how long I sat there, just tracing patterns up and down my leg but I finally looked up at everyone, my eyes drifted. Jane looked a little glassy eyed as she grinned down, everyone, even Natasha was grinning at me, Steve who’d appeared at some point smiled with a nod, though he looked slightly amazed.

“How does it feel?” Jane asked, squeezing my hand slightly.

“Amazing. I can feel it. It’s not quite the same but fuck, it’s there and I have a leg again, fuck,” Several more tears dripped down my cheeks and Jane wrapped an arm around my shoulder as I gave a slight sob. “Thank you,” I breathed, looking up at Tony, Bruce and Betty. The three of them just nodded and Tony’s grin grew wider.

Charlotte stepped forward to the end of the couch.

“May I?” she asked, her hands inches from my new foot. I just nodded.

She ran a finger over the arch of my foot and I shifted slightly. It didn’t tickle, but at the same time it did. It wasn’t quite as sensitive, but the sensation was still there.

She went through a series of things. “Can you move your toes? Can you bend your knee? Can you rotate your ankle? Point your toes?” I went through each movement, trying and failing to blink away the tears. After nearly an hour, the clock on the wall told me, she finally moved the bars next to the bed.

“Ready to try and stand?” she asked, and I nodded eagerly. I twisted round to sit up, letting my feet, plural, hang over the edge, my toes not quite brushing the floor. “When you stand I want you to try and balance on you’re right foot and I’m going to move the couch from behind you and ask Agent Barton to stand behind you in case you fall, okay?” she didn’t move until I nodded.

I carefully stood up, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the bars. I bent my left knee, finding it surprisingly easy to hold that position. I felt the bed get pushed away and Charlotte moved to stand in front of me.

Clint moved from in front of me, letting me trace his movements as his hand moved from my arm to the small of my back as he stood behind me.

“Okay, slowly, I want you to put your left foot down, don’t put any weight on it yet, just let it rest on the floor, and when you’re ready, slowly start to put pressure on it,” she said, holding her hands in front of her, as if to catch me if I fell.

My grip tightened even more on the bars as I hesitantly straightened my leg, my foot hovered, millimetres above the floor for a minute before carefully letting it touch the floor. As I evened the pressure between my two legs, the metal held but my thigh shook slightly at the new feeling.

Clint’s steadying hand moved to rest on my waist.

“How does that feel?” Charlotte asked, a grin on her own face.

“Amazing,” I breathed, my eyes fixed on my feet.

“If you feel up to it, you can take your hands away from the bars, and try standing on your own,” she said. Biting my lip in concentration, I lifted one hand, then the other, letting them hover just above the bars in case I needed to catch myself. But I didn’t.

After a minute my leg stopped shaking and held in place. For the first time since I was sixteen I was standing on my own two feet again.

I let out a deep breath I didn’t know I was holding, looking up at Charlotte who smiled.

“Feel okay?” she asked and I nodded. “Okay, I want you to shift your hands forward a bit, yeah, and I want you to try and take a step forward onto your left leg,”

Shifting my grip on the bars, I slowly reached my leg forward, letting it slowly rest on the floor before putting weight on it to step forward.

“Again?” Charlotte asked and I nodded, I didn’t hesitate this time, stepping straight forward. Though unlike my last prosthetic this one was the right length and I put all my weight forward before my foot touched the floor and I stumbled, Clint’s hands on my waist, catching me before I hit the floor.

“Are you okay?” she asked, helping me stand again and I leant my weight back on the bars. I nodded, forcing myself to take a steadying breath. “Maybe we should call it a day. Do some more tomorrow,” she suggested lightly. I clenched my jaw, shaking my head stubbornly.

“No,” I said. Shifting to stand evenly again. “I can do this,”

Taking another deep breath I stepped forward, my leg shook slightly but held, and I smiled slightly, taking another and another, I felt Clint’s hands slip away as my grip on the bars loosened.

As I reached the end of the bars I looked back at where I started with a grin.

“Holy shit,” I breathed. _I could walk!_

**Chapter Six**

  
As more days and physical therapy passed, the distance I could walk slowly got further and I could stand on my left leg alone without it hurting. Charlotte finally declared I was fit enough to stop using the chair and I swear I could have kissed her!

At the end of my session, I grinned as I watched her leave, still slightly shocked as I bounced on the balls of my feet.

“Good news?” Steve asked, as he leant against the door to the gun range.

“Yeppers!” I said, shifting my weight from one foot to the other with ease. “I am no longer bound to a chair,” he smiled as he walked towards me, his hands in his pockets.

“ _Captain Rogers, sir is requesting your presence in the labs,”_ Jarvis said and Steve looked at me in confusion and I shrugged.

“I’ll come with you, see if they’ve actually eaten today,” I said, stepping into the elevator, as always, I pressed myself into the corner, looking out at the city as the elevator rose. My breath caught in my throat.

_No. No. You’re fine. You’re in the tower. It’s safe. You’re with Steve._

“ _Miss Lewis, my sensors are detecting that you are in some distress,”_ Jarvis said making Steve’s head snap around me.

“Darcy?” he asked, reached out towards me and I flinched slightly as his hand touched my arm.

_Trapped. Can’t get out._

“I can’t breathe,” I chocked, everything blurred, the ringing in my ears getting louder.

“Jarvis?” I heard Steve ask.

“ _Indications show that Miss Lewis is having a panic attack,”_ Jarvis said.

“Darcy, you’re okay,” Steve said, I felt the elevator stop and the doors open to the common room. A hand on my arm guided me out and I slid down the wall. Someone knelt next to me and I was leaning into their chest. A strong arm around me, but not trapping me. “You need to breathe, doll. Breathe with me,” They took deep, exaggerated breaths that I tried to copy. “That’s it, good. You’re safe, doll,” Taking several more deep breaths, the ringing quieted before stopping and everything slowly faded back into focus.

I was sitting outside the elevator, not in the labs, but in the common room, leaning into Steve’s chest, his arm around my shoulders a hint of worry across his face.

“Oh shit,” I breathed. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to pull away. Wrapping my arms around myself.

“You don’t need to apologise,” he assured me, I gave him a doubtful smile. “Can – can I give you a hug?” he asked awkwardly, making me look up at him in surprise. “You look like you could do with a hug. I’ve heard they can help,” he said with a slight shrug, making me laugh slightly.

“Yeah, I could do with a hug?” It came out as more of a question as Steve opened his arms and I shuffled closer, leaning my head back against his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart as my arms wound around his waist.

“God, I’m so stupid,” I breathed, letting myself relax in his arms.

“Why?” he asked softly, one of his hands combing gently through my hair.

“I live in a tower of superheroes and I can’t even handle being in an elevator. I mean I’ve been in that elevator dozens of times in the past couple of weeks. Sitting, standing, I don’t get why I can’t just… be normal,” I trailed off desperately.

Steve’s grip around me tightened briefly.

“You’re not stupid,” he said, I opened my mouth to disagree but he squeezed my arm and continued before I could say anything. “Everyone is scared of something. Even the people living in this tower, and _everyone_ reacts to fear in their own ways and that’s okay. You’re allowed to be scared and react to that fear, which never makes you stupid or weak,”

“’s what Clint said,” I mumbled.

“He’s right,” Steve continued. “You’ve been in that elevator a lot recently. You’ve faced that fear a lot, not comfortably maybe. But you’ve still done it and I’m guessing you’ve been trying to stop yourself from panicking every time you’ve been in an elevator?” I looked away giving him his answer.

“Doll, you’ve got a better hand on this than you give yourself credit for.” I looked up at him, still doubtful. “You’re doing good Doll. No matter what you think, you’re doing good,”

I stared up at him, looking for something, anything on his face that said he was just telling me what I needed to hear, he stared back at me with soft blue eyes.

“Did I just get Captain America’d?” I said with a feeble smile.

Steve gave a short laugh.

“C’mon,” I said, deciding to change the subject as I stood up. “I want coffee and something with sugar in before I find out what Tony is trying to blow up,” I grabbed Steve’s hand, trying to pull him up. He looked up at with an amused smile as he didn’t budge. “Urgh, you’re heavy,” I groaned, trying to move him again. Steve stood up and let me pull him towards the kitchen.

Once in the kitchen I reluctantly dropped his hand.

“ _Miss Lewis, might I suggest something with less caffeine would help your current state. Data shows things with more sugar than caffeine would help you at the moment,”_ Jarvis said, I glared at the coffee machine, knowing Jarvis was right I poured a mug of milk, shoving it in the microwave, while I dug through the cupboards, grabbing the box of chocolate chip cookies, tossing them on the counter I stared at the throwing knife stabbed in the top in exasperation.

Rolling my eyes I pulled the knife out, looking down at the blade _ВДОВА_ _ **widow**_ was engraved along the blade. I recognised it was Russian but I had no idea what it meant.

“Part of me wants to know why. The other part…” I trailed off with a shudder. It was Natasha’s knife and Natasha did some scary shit.

Steve snorted, as he made himself a cup of coffee. I slid the knife into my hoodie pocket to return to Nat later. I shot Steve a sharp look as he opened his mouth to probably lecture me on knife safety. He closed his mouth with an audible snap.

Pulling open the half empty box, Steve and I finished the rest of the cookies while I waited for the microwave to ping.

“Jarvis, have the crazy scientists eaten or drunk anything since I left them this morning?” I asked, stirring chocolate powder into my milk.

“ _No. Neither Sir nor Doctors Foster or Banner have had any form of food or drink since 9am this morning when you left,”_ Jarvis said.

Looking over at the clock I gave an irritated sigh, it was nearing 5.

“J, can you send some food up and switch the labs coffee machine on please?” I requested.

“ _Certainly Miss Lewis,”_

Steve and I took the stairs up to the labs, Bruce was the only one to look up, giving a small smile.

I went straight to the coffee machine, pouring two cups of coffee and a tea. Four cups carefully in hand I swept round the room, Bruce accepted his tea with a quiet “Thank you,”

Tony, who was rambling to Steve about his shield and something about magnets gave me a strange look but accepted the drink, even giving a small “Thanks” in return.

Shaking my head at Tony’s sudden politeness I moved round to Jane, I set her drink down in front of her. She looked down between my drink and hers before reaching out she took my hand, giving me a look that clearly asked ‘are you okay?’

I gave half a shrug in return and she squeezed my hand gently.

“How’d you know?” I asked.

“You only drink hot chocolate during the day after a panic attack or flashbacks,” I stared at her. _Since when was Jane that observant?_ “And Jarvis told Tony you had a panic attack in the elevator when you and Steve didn’t come straight up,” she added.

“Nosey much,” I mumbled, as Jane sipped her coffee for a minute before turning back to me with wide eyes. “You’re walking!” She exclaimed. Looking down at my leg.

“Charlotte gave me the all clear. I don’t need to use the chair anymore, as long as I don’t overdo it,” I told her with a bright grin.

“I’m so happy for you,” she said. Reaching out, hugging me tightly.

“I need to go and find Nat,” I said when she pulled away.

“Be careful!” She said, grabbing my hot chocolate I waved over my shoulder. Finishing the last of my drink, I tossed the mug in the sink as I walked past.

“Jarvis, where is Nat?” I asked, pushing the door to the stairwell open.

“ _Agent Romanoff is in Agent Barton’s apartment,”_ Jarvis said.

“Are they decent?” I asked, wrinkling my nose as I started down the stairs.

“ _I believe so,”_ Jarvis said. _Jarvis went by Tony’s standards of decency, so they could be fucking on the kitchen counter and Tony would probably class that as decent._

“Ew, gross,” I muttered with a shudder, pushing all thoughts of Clint and Natasha like _that_ away.

Pushing open the door to the corridor, I banged on Clint’s door loudly.

Nat pulled it open seconds later.

“Darcy?” she said in surprise, confusion flickering across her face.

“I believe this is yours?” I said, pulling the knife out of my pocket.

“Oh, right. I forgot about that,” she said, as I handed the knife over. She flipped it over in her hand. “Thank you,”

“What does that mean?” I asked, gesturing to the engraving.

“Вдова?” she asked, I nodded. “It means Widow. As in Black Widow. Clint got it for me when he was on a mission before. He saw the engraving on it and thought it was funny,” she explained.

“I never learnt Russian. It looked really confusing, I took Korean instead,” I said making Nat laugh.

“Russian is easier than Korean,” she said, looking at me like I was insane. I shrugged.

“Plus the Russian teacher was a creep. He reminded me of _that_ guy –,” I cut myself off wide eyed. “He was weird. Nobody liked him,” I tried lie but Nat narrowed her eyes, though thankfully didn’t comment on it.

“I can teach you,” she said, making me look up at her in confusion. “Russian. I can teach you Russian. It’s really not that hard and you never know. It might come in handy someday,”

“Really?” I asked in shock. _The_ Black Widow was offering to take time and teach me Russian. She gave a slight nod, I grinned brightly in return.

And that was how Clint walked in several hours later to find Nat and I sprawled across the couch, my head on her feet reciting the Russian alphabet and numbers from 1-20.

**Chapter Seven  
**

“ _Miss Lewis. You have an incoming video call from Staff Sergeant Lewis,”_ Jarvis announced, cutting through movie night.

“There’s a screen downstairs,” Pepper said, as I shot up from where my head was resting on Steve’s shoulder.

I stood up and winced. A week was not enough time to get used to the feeling.

“Put him through downstairs please, Jarvis,” I said, not bothering with the stairs I climbed over the back of the couch and practically ran down the stairs to the couch where a hologram of Jake’s face lit up above the table.

“Jake!” I exclaimed, dropping down into the cushions.

“Holy shit D, your leg!” He said loudly.

“Aw crap. I forgot you didn’t know. Basically, you know how I work sort of in the vicinity of Tony Stark…” I rambled into the story of Tony designing my new leg and Jarvis showed him the footage of me learning to walk again, when the footage faded away, Jake looked slightly teary eyed.

“I’m so proud of you Darcy,” he said fiercely and I blushed, my eyes drifting down to the floor. “No, Darce. I mean it. I am so proud of you. From where you were a few years back, when you came to live with us. To now…” He trailed off. “Everybody always said you could talk your way to the top,”

“Not everybody,” I muttered, what I thought was too quiet for him to hear but he sighed.

“D, Dad isn’t worth your time,” he said.

“Is it bad I miss him?” I asked. After everything he did and said. Part of me still wished he was there.

Jake didn’t get a chance to answer as Mike Davidson, Jake’s best friend leant over his shoulder.

“Did I hear the dick being mentioned? Because he’s a dick and is not worth wasting valuable minutes talking about,” Mike said bluntly, making both Jake and I snort before he looked up at me. “Hey Darce,” he grinned, snatching Jake’s headset off, putting it on. “Holy shit, where are you? Are you in a five star hotel? Wait. What’s up with your leg? Why is it all shiny?” he asked, I just laughed. _God Jake’s friends were insane!_

“Classified. No. I got a new prosthetic and It’s made of metal,” I listed.

“Classified? I thought you worked for an astrophysicist?”

I rolled my eyes again. “Jake can fill you in on everything. But expect a few NDA’s to sign,” I said. Before looking at Jake. _You can fill him in on my job. But I swear to god if everyone starts to find out I will murder both of you._ I signed. Jake snorted but nodded.

 _Yes ma’am._ He signed back.

“Urgh. Stop doing that,” Mike groaned. Mike was fluent in twelve different languages, sign language was not one of them.

“Oi Davidson! Get of Lewis’ call!” The familiar voice of their S.O. Iain Richards yelled in the background.

“I gotta go Darce,” Mike said waving at someone, probably Richards, over his shoulder.

“Go say hi to Richards for me!” I said with a small, sad smile.

“Will do. See you soon, Peg leg. Love ya!”

“Love you too, you idiot!” I said. He gave one last grin before dumping the headset back on Jake and jogging away.

Jake filled me in on the random day to day stuff they’d been up to and I tried to ignore the dark circles under his eyes or the strain in his voice when he mentioned home.

“I’ve gotta go,” he said, looking over his shoulder, flipping someone, probably Mike, off.

“I love you,” I said with a small smile.

“You too. See you when I’m home,” he said, a smile of his own. The feed froze before the hologram disappeared. I just stared at the empty space, blinking away the burning in my eyes.

I don’t know how long I sat there before the sound of someone walking down the stairs made me turn around.

“You okay, Doll?” Steve asked walking around the couch to stand in front of me. I stood up, burying my face in his chest, my arms going around his waist.

His arms came around my shoulders, one hand resting on the back of my neck, he held me.

We stood there for a while before he finally pulled away.

“Wanna go back upstairs? Tony said something about team bonding,” Steve said, looking down at me, his fingers finally dropping from my hair.

“Has Nat got vodka?” I asked, tilting my head back to look at him.

“Probably,” he said with a slight laugh.

“Then hell yeah,” I said, turning to skip back up the stairs.

.

“ _Miss Lewis, Agent Romanoff wishes to know if you’re still planning on meeting her this morning,”_ Jarvis said, his voice waking me, making the pounding in my head louder.

I groaned, rolling over I looked up at the clock on the wall.

_09:28 am_

_I was late._

“Can you tell her I’ll be there in fifteen minutes please, J,” I said, pulling myself to sit up.

“ _Certainly,”_

I went straight through to the bathroom, taking a quick, less than five minute shower, getting ready in under ten minutes with a routine I perfected in college.

Moving into the kitchen, hair still dripping down my back as I dug through a cupboard, pulling out a strip of tablets, not bothering with water as I just swallowed it dry.

Walking up to Clint’s floor, I knocked on the door. Nat pulled open.

“Доброе утро,” _**Good morning.**_ She said, stepping aside to let me in.

Somethings, like a freshly showered Black Widow, dressed in sweat pants, would never stop being weird.

“Утро,” _**Morning.**_ I muttered, moving over to the breakfast bar where Clint held out a cup of steaming coffee. “Thanks,” I muttered, wrapping my hands around the mug, practically inhaling the drink.

“Dormire bene?” _**Sleep well? – Italian.**_ Clint asked. I shrugged, then paused.

“Sì. Mi ha fatto in realtà, ho mai svegliato,” _**Yeah. I did actually, I never woke up.**_ I replied, the Italian rolling off of my tongue with ease.

“È parlare italiano?” _**You speak Italian?**_ Nat asked with a raised eyebrow.

“And Spanish, German, French, Farsi, Korean and a little bit of Dutch,” I said proudly. Languages was something I picked up ridiculously easy, so whenever I had a chance to learn another one, I did.

Nat looked mildly impressed.

“They taught you Korean in school?” she asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

“God no,” I scoffed. “I learnt how to count to ten in Spanish in school when I was 9. The rest I taught myself. I was home-schooled,” I shrugged. “I wanna go shopping,” I said after a minute, changing the subject completely. “Someone come with me?”

Clint and Nat both exchanged a look and shrugged.

“Sure,” Clint said.

“Give me ten minutes,” Nat said, not waiting for a reply she disappeared into the bedroom.

I tossed my hair over my shoulder, trying to comb some of the drips out with my fingers.

“C’mere,” Clint said, moving to stand behind me, he swatted my hands away, before sectioning my hair. I had no idea what he was doing, but I watched as he grabbed a pot of bobby pins out of the counter draw, sliding several into my hair.

“I did not know you had a tattoo here,” he said pressing the star tattoo behind my right ear.

“I have two tattoos,” I said pulling my left sleeve up to show him the anchor on my wrist. “I thought you were supposed to be observant _Hawkeye,”_ I teased. He grumbled something under his breath, tugging my hair lightly.

“Done,” he declared after several minutes just as Nat came back out.

“Am I pretty?” I asked, tipping my head back to look at him.

“As a princess,” he said, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

Nat rolled her eyes as she shrugged on a leather jacket, sliding a knife into her boot.

We took the elevator down to the lobby and I ducked my head at the people outside taking pictures.

Neither Clint nor Nat stopped to talk to anybody and I regretted not wearing anything with a hood on as cameras flashed in my face.

“Würde der Rest verschwinden, wenn ich einen von ihnen erschieße?” Nat asked as moved down the sidewalk away from the tower. _If I shot one, do you think the rest would leave?_

“Ich bezweifle es,”Clint replied as I snorted. _I doubt it.  
_

“Besides, Pepper would kill you for the paperwork,” I added, not bothering to continue with the German.

We started in a book shop and I literally could have spent days in there.

I grabbed a couple of books and a little notebook for Steve.

“The napkin full of references is practically full,” I said to Nat’s raised eyebrow.

We reached the till and as I dumped the small pile of books on the counter, I jumped when I turned and saw a little girl, no older than seven stood just behind me, a teenage girl trying to pull her away.

The younger girl signing quickly, pointing to Nat and Clint who were trying to pretend not to notice.

The older girl sighed stepping forward.

“Erm, excuse me?” she said awkwardly. “My little sister wants to know if you’re really the Black Widow and Hawkeye?” she said.

Clint and Nat both looked between the sisters.

Clint nodded.

“Yeah we are,” he said. The younger girl looked up at her sister and pointed to her lips and shook her head.

“Sorry. She’s deaf, she can’t always lip read, she’s not very good with her words,” her sister said. Clint’s hand on her arm stopped her from signing as he knelt in front of the little girl.

 _My names Clint. But some people call me Hawkeye._ He signed. The little girl’s eyes widened.

 _You can talk with your hands also?_ She asked, glancing up at her big sister who looked equally surprised.

 _Sure I can. So can Nat._ Clint signed.

 _Really?_ The little girl’s eyes widened.

 _Sure._ Nat said, crouching down next to Clint. _I’m Natasha. What’s your name?_

 _Rebekah._ The little girl said. _That’s Allison._ She pointed to her sister.

“Would I be able to take a picture of you signing with her?” Allison asked.

Nat nodded, her eyes fixed on Rebekah’s hands as they flew through the air, telling Clint and Nat about her favourite superheroes, and how she wanted a Black Widow figure to go with the rest of her collection.

 _Can your friend talk with her hands also?_ Rebekah asked pointing to me.

 _Why don’t you ask her?_ Clint suggested. Rebekah turned to me, repeating her question.

 _I can. My name is Darcy. It’s nice to meet you Rebekah._ I signed with a smile. Rebekah was practically bouncing with excitement, her eyes cartoonishly wide at the thought of three people who can talk to her without a translator.

Allison who stood watching the conversation. Her eyes slightly glassy grinned.

“Are you okay?” I asked aloud. She nodded.

“Not many people can talk to her properly. She was scared to talk to you in case they thought she was silly for not being able to talk like everybody else. You have no idea how much this means to her,” she said.

Clint and Nat spoke with Rebekah for a while longer, taking some proper pictures before Allison said it was time to go. As they left, Allison turned back.

 _Thank you._ She signed, getting three nods in return.

We turned back to the counter where my books still sat.

“That little girl is such a sweetheart,” she said. “That’ll mean a lot to her. You folks have a nice day,”

“I think you just made that girls year,” I said as we left the shop. Following Nat as she drifted into a clothes shop. Clint smiled.

“When I first lost my hearing, the only way people could talk to me was writing things down. When I joined the circus, one of the animal handlers could sign, she spent hours teaching me and she made damn sure everyone else in the circus could sign too, just so I could communicate with everybody without feeling singled out,” he said fondly. “More people should be taught to sign, so kids like her don’t grow up not being able to talk to people,”

.

We weaved through several shops, buying a few things here and there, Tasha even convinced Clint to buy us Starbucks.

“You do realise we could get this when we’re back at the tower, right? You know there’s a Starbucks by the food court on the second floor. Along with practically an entire mall,” he said as we stood in line.

“I did not know that,” I muttered. “But it figures for Tony Stark to have an entire floor of just things he can buy,”

“Two floors,” Nat corrected and I rolled my eyes.

“Excessive much,”

I ordered my frappachino and tried not to flinch at the baristas overfriendliness, or the group of people in the corner who’d recognised the two Avengers and had several cameras pointed in our direction.

“Let’s get out of here,” Clint said as soon as we had our drinks. His hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the forming crowd.

We walked rather quickly back to the tower and I sighed in relief as I reached up for the retinal scanner and the elevator doors slid open.

The elevator went straight up to the common room, where Pepper was scrolling through a holographic twitter feed and I cringed as I saw a couple of pictures of me.

“Do I want to know?” I asked. Picking up my tablet which for some reason was on the coffee table.

I opened up my twitter and cringed.

The picture of Clint and Nat signing with Rebekah had gone viral and I was stood in the background smiling.

_@allison94:  
@hawkeye_official, @the_blackwidow and their friend Darcy spent time signing w/ my sister Rebekah in a book shop. You made her day Thank you!_

I smiled slightly it was a cute picture with a lot of likes and retweets. Other pictures like the one of us walking out of a shop where Clint had slung his arms around both me and Nat as we laughed was posted.

_@intouchweekly:  
Who is this brunette seen out with @hawkeye_official and @the_blackwidow? It looks like a pretty intimate relationship. #MysteryGirl_

Another person had a picture as we were waiting in Starbucks of me grinning at Nat.

_@jenniferblake:  
Is she sleeping with them? #MysteryGirl_

I scoffed and carried on scrolling.

_@rogersgrl107:  
It’s the same girl from the bookshop. Her names Darcy. #MysteryGirl_

_@rogersgrl107:  
It’s @darcy_lewis #MysteryGirl #NotAMystery_

_@rogersgrl107:  
@darcy_lewis are you fucking @hawkeye_official and @the_blackwidow. #MysteryGirl_

_@ebishop  
Maybe @hawkeye_official is bored with @the_blackwidow and needed something new. With tits like #MysteryGirls I would! _

_@gwen_cooper:  
Why would they fuck her? Don’t they have standards? #MysteryGirl_

_@drharper:  
She knows Thor! #MysteryGirl_

Underneath was the picture I’d taken of Thor in Izzy’s diner in New Mexico.

_@rogersgrl107:  
That’s probably how she knows them. She’s probably sleeping her way through the team. #MysteryGirl_

“Darcy just ignore them,” Pepper advised. “You were bound to get noticed eventually,” she sighed.

I kept scrolling through the #MysteryGirl tag.

I was now trending!

“What is going on?” Tony asked, stepping out of the elevator with Jane, Bruce and Steve. “Why are people tweeting me asking if the mystery girl is Darcy Lewis and if she’s sleeping with me?”

“Because haven’t you heard?” I asked looking over at them. “I’m the Avengers whore. I am sleeping with everybody!”

“What?” Jane dropped down next to me, her phone already in her hand. “This is absurd!”

“Welcome to the media Kid,” Tony said, holding a glass of scotch out to me, which I took and threw back, wincing slightly.

_@hawkeyeofficial retweeted a photo of you._

I glanced up at Clint who was flicking through his phone with narrowed eyes. Flicking it open it was the picture in the bookshop that he tagged me in.

_@the_blackwidow retweeted a photo of you._

_@theavengersofficial retweeted a photo of you._

Followed by a long list of other people who retweeted the photo.

“This is stupid,” Jane muttered. I snatched her phone out of her hand before she could post anything.

“I can handle it Jane,” I said, opening posting my own post.

_@darcy_lewis:  
Three friends are allowed to go shopping without sleeping together. #ImNotTheAvengersWhore_

I retweeted the bookshop picture.

_@hawkeyeofficial, @the_blackwidow, @pepperpottsCEO, @theavengersofficial, @janefoster favourited your tweet._

_@rogersgrl107:  
If your not sleeping with them how can you get into the tower??? @darcy_lewis_

_@darcy_lewis:  
@rogersgrl107 *You’re. And I work for Stark Industries. I live here along with a lot of other people._

_@gwen_cooper:  
If you just work there why are you out shopping intimately with them????? @darcy_lewis_

“What the hell does shopping intimately mean?” I asked looking up from tablet. “They make it sound like I was fucking you both in central park,”

_@darcy_lewis:  
@gwen_cooper What do you mean by shopping intimately? They’re my friends and co-workers. We went shopping for the morning. Nothing more._

_@hawkeyeofficial, @the_blackwidow favourited your tweet._

_@drharper:  
Is your bio true? @darcy_lewis_

_@darcy_lewis:  
Yes @drharper. I did tase Thor when he first came here, ask him it’s an excellent story. _

I locked my tablet, tossing it on the table, mentally thanking whatever reminded me to take my migraine tablets this morning.

“Do the media do this to everybody?” Steve asked, looking over Nat’s shoulder at her phone.

“Anybody with a name,” Tony said with a nod. “It’s normally always bullshit,”

“It’s normally worse if it’s a women. It’ll be her name that’s dragged through the dirt. Out of all of these tweets, it shames Darcy and Nat. Never Clint. If anything it supports Clint,” Pepper said bitterly.

Steve scowled at the phone again. His face changing into the ‘Captain America’s disappointed in you’ look that could literally make grown men cry in shame.

“Darcy, help me set up a twitter account,” Steve said coming to sit next to me. I stared at him for a minute.

“Okay then?”

Ten minutes later Steve had twitter.

_Steve Rogers  
@CptSRogers_

He was verified in twenty minutes and hit two million followers at twenty five minutes.

_@CptSRogers:  
The comments made about @darcy_lewis are out of line and should never have been made. She’s a friend and a coworker. (1)_

_@CptSRogers:  
If people, celebrities or not spend their time together that is not an excuse for their names to get dragged through social media sites with degrading comments. (2)_

_@CptSRogers:  
For the record. Anything that consenting adults do at home in their own time, is never anybody else’s concern. (3)_

And with those three tweets he trended worldwide, had some people cheering and Fox News saying that Tony Stark had corrupt Captain America.

Maybe today wasn’t so bad after all.

**Chapter Eight  
**

I glared at my phone, hitting the ‘regect’ button for the eighteenth time. It chimed twice, signalling a voicemail followed by a text that I didn’t bother to look at.

“ _Miss Lewis, there is a visitor for you in the lobby,”_ Jarvis said, as I tossed my cell on the coffee table. I looked up at the ceiling in confusion. _“He is claiming to be your father,”_

I tensed, scrambling to reach for my phone.

_18 Missed Calls – Dad_

_16 Voicemails_

_Voice Mailbox Is Full_

_23 Unread Messages – Dad_

I opened the messages, scrolling down to the latest ones.

_From: Dad  
-I’m here to see you.  
-They won’t let me up.  
-Come and see me??_

“Jarvis, pull up the footage in the lobby please,” I said, my voice weak.

A screen appeared in front of me and my breath caught in my throat at the sight of him in the lobby, arguing with the receptionist.

I gave an aggravated sigh.

Before I could second guess myself I swept across the room, making sure my taser and cell phone were both in my pocket before forcing myself to step in the elevator.

“ _Would you like me to call someone for you?”_ Jarvis asked as I rested my head on the window.

“Just take me down to the lobby please J. I need to do this on my own,” I said. I heard the doors close, and fixed my eyes on a spot in the city until the elevator stopped with a ‘ping’.

I stepped out, my eyes scanning the lobby, getting a couple of strange looks for coming out of the private elevator. I ignored them, my eyes settling on the desk where my father was stood.

“She’s my daughter. You can’t stop me seeing her,” he snapped at her.

“Sir, I’ve sent a message up. But there’s nothing I can do. Now _please_ step back or I’ll have to call security. And you do _not_ want to see this buildings security angry,” The lady who’s name I think was Christine.

“Listen here –,”

“Enough,” I shouted, stepping towards the reception desk. Both Christine and my father looked up at me in surprise. “I’m sorry,” I told her. She nodded slightly sitting back down. Before I turned to him. “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked with a glare.

“I came to see you,” he said. “I saw you on the TV and on Facebook. You didn’t tell me you were living here,” he sounded hurt, making me scoff.

“My living arrangements _were_ classified, and even if they weren’t, why would I tell you? I’ve not spoken to you in ten years,” I pointed out, not trying to lower my voice. A couple of people gave us strange looks but I couldn’t bring myself to care.

“I’ve been trying to get hold of Jake,” he said.

“Jake’s in Afghanistan,” I said bluntly. “If you actually gave a damn you’d know that,”

“Don’t you dare take that tone with me young lady,” His voice rose slightly and I tensed. “I am your father. You’ll show me some respect,”

_Breathe. Breathe Darcy!_

“Darcy? Is everything alright here?” Steve asked, coming to stand next to me. Slowly reaching out, his hand resting on my shoulder.

“Who the hell are you? This is between me and my daughter. Is this one of the people you’re sleeping with?” he practically shouted. Tears burned my eyes.

“I’m Steve Rogers, better known as Captain America around here,” Steve said coldly.

My eyes widened in surprise. Steve _never_ pulled the Captain America card.

I watched as my father’s face paled slightly.

“I was in the lab with Tony and Jarvis told us security had been alerted to the lobby,” Steve said to me. _Tattle._ “Are you okay?”

I forced myself to take a deep breath which he seemed to notice as I nodded.

“Sir, with all due respect Darcy is supposed to be working, and Mr Stark and Doctor Foster both require her to be doing her job,” Steve lied smoothly, giving his _America is disappointed in you_ look that I’d seen make people cry.

“Of course Captain,” My father nodded quickly, looking to the floor and he paused. “Darcy… What’s wrong with your leg?”

“I got an upgrade,” I said.

“You know I won’t pay for your leg. How are you affording it?” he asked, the tone of his voice clearly suggesting I was paying for it in something other than money.

“A clinical trial,” I said. It was sort of true. “It’s one of a kind,” I told him. “Now if you’ll excuse me I need to stop Stark from blowing up his lab… _again,”_

Before anyone could say anything I practically ran back to the elevator.

Steve wrapped his arm around me as the doors closed and I pressed my face against his shoulder.

“It’s okay. Breathe Doll, you’re safe. He’s gone,” he said gently, as I gave a choked sob.

_Safe. You’re with Steve! In the tower. Nobody can hurt you here._

I forced myself to breathe as I clutched his jacket.

“Doll, we’re at the labs. Jane wants to see you,” he said. I pulled away slightly, sure enough the doors had opened and Jane was stood in the doorway to her labs biting her nails nervously.

Steve kept his arm around me as I stepped into the labs and Jane hesitantly pulled me into her arms.

“He was here Jane. My dad was here, and I –,” I sobbed slightly.

“It’s okay, he’s gone,” she assured me, looking to Steve who nodded in affirmative. After a minute I managed to pull myself together, I pulled away.

“Okay, freak out over,” I muttered, shaking my hands out nervously, a bright, fake grin on my face. “What are you lot trying to blow up today?”

“Darcy,” Jane sighed, a hint of worry in her voice, but I ignored it. “Why don’t you take the day off?” she suggested lightly, making me scowl at her.

“Jane, I’m fine. I just need to be doing something,” I said.

“Then go and do something elsewhere. We can manage for the day,” she shooed me back towards the door.

“Janey c’mon –,”

“Nope. Go bake or watch a movie. Goto central park or something,” she said, her eyes widening, I groaned, looking over at Tony and Steve for help buy they were poking something on the back of Steve’s shield.

With a sigh I conceded, I could probably do with a break.

“Okay, okay. But if you don’t eat I will come back and force feed you,” I warned. Jane grinned. I rolled my eyes as I turned to leave.

_Stupid scientists and their stupid puppy eyes!_

**Chapter Nine** _  
_

A couple of hours later I knelt up on the counter in the kitchen, digging through the cupboard looking for a bottle of vanilla extract that Jarvis had assured me was in here.

“Aha!” I exclaimed, grabbing the small bottle of vanilla extract, then cursing as my elbow hit a jar of peanut butter, I winced, waiting for it to smash, but a chuckle and no crash, my head whipped around.

Seeing a tall, dark skinned man, dressing in a US Airforce uniform stood in front of me, setting the jar back on the counter.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” he asked, an amused glint in his eye. He held out his hand to help me down.

“Er, yeah. Thank you,” I said, hesitantly taking his hand as he helped stand up. His eyes flickered down to my leg briefly before looking back at my face.

“Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes,” he said. “But people round here tend to call me Rhodey,”

“Darcy Lewis,” I responded, shaking his hand, my eyes drifted to his medals before I looked away.

“Did you serve?” he asked, his voice gentle.

“They took my leg before I could enlist,” I said, shaking my head. “My brothers currently in Afghanistan. I got an email at 3am from him and a friend, demanding cookies ASAP,” I gestured to the baking ingredients scattered across the counter.

Rhodey laughed. “Home baked goods always brightened the mood,” he said. “I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to go and see Tony, make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid this week,”

“Tony? Do something stupid? I have no _idea_ what you mean!” I laughed, Rhodey rolled his eyes as he headed towards the elevator, throwing a wave over his shoulder.

I hadn’t baked in a while but the recipe was simple enough. I made two dozen chocolate chip cookies and another two dozen brownies. Setting them aside to box up before making several dozen more to keep.

“Something smells good,” Clint said, making me jump as he slid out of vent to sit on top of the fridge.

“Jesus Christ, Clint!” I gasped, throwing a wet dish cloth up at him.

He caught it easily, wrinkling his nose as it dripped on his leg, he tossed it back in the sink.

I glared at him as he dropped down off the fridge, he reached out to take a brownie, and I slapped his hand away.

“They’re hot,” I said, then nodded to one of the plates of cookies. “They aren’t though,”

Clint reached out, snatching a cookie off the plate.

“These are good,” he said as he shoved the whole cookie in his mouth. “I didn’t know you could cook,”

“I had to,” I shrugged. “My dad never knew the difference between a microwave and an oven, and I was the women so…” I trailed off, gesturing to the baked goods. “My brother can cook actual food better than me,” I shrugged.

“Your dad sounds like a dick,” Nat said as she walked in.

“No arguments there,” I muttered, too low for either of them to actually hear.

“Here, try these,” Clint slid the plate of cookies towards Tasha.

“These are good, малютка,” she said after taking an experimental bite. I blushed giving a smile in thanks. “Так почему мы говорим о вашей мудак из папа?” **So why are we talking about your asshole of a dad?**

I scrunched up my face in confusion.

“Мудак?” I questioned, trying to replicate the pronunciation.

“M- _u-_ dak,” Clint corrected lightly.

“M _u_ dak,” I repeated slowly, he nodded.

“Asshole,” Nat translated, making me snort. “So why are we talking about it?”

“Clint asked a question,” I said with a shrug.

“Actually,” he interjected, holding up a finger. “I said ‘I didn’t know you could cook.’ I never actually asked a question, you just told me,”

I froze. I’d never really spoken about my father. Jane knew I didn’t particularly like him, Steve saw what happened the other day, while Clint and Coulson just knew I didn’t speak to him, the only people that knew everything were Jake, Chelsea, Mike and a couple of people from Fort Lewis-McChord.

“You don’t talk about your family much,” Tasha observed gently.

“My mom died just after I moved to New Mexico. You’ve met my brother and my father finally disowned me when I was sixteen, taking the rest of my family with him,” I said, my fingers twisting around my bracelet. Blatantly skipping over the fact that he turned up here just yesterday.

“What was he like?” she asked, ignoring the look from Clint.

Resting my elbows heavily on top of the counter, I sighed. “He was alright, for years. Well, I thought he was at least. I mean kids are naïve. They listen to their parents, no matter what they do, you trust them, forgive them. Because they’re your parents. He was a selfish man. He used my brother and me, time and time again and for years we let him. He always made it seem okay, like he was doing it for us,” A tear dripped down my face, I quickly wiped it away, and I don’t know why but I carried on. When – when I was twelve, I was terrified of men and I had to stay with him for a couple of weeks. I was so scared to be on my own with him, but I didn’t have a choice. I think he was just trying to snap me out of it, I don’t think he was actually _trying_ to hurt me. His belt, his fist, threats, a backhand… Only when I was having a panic attack or flashbacks. My mom came to pick me up when we were in the middle of an argument, he was yelling. God, my family ran on yelling. I was ‘a selfish bitch… A worthless piece of shit who had no right to step under his roof until I’d sorted out my attitude,’” I gave a humourless laugh.

“I never stepped foot under his roof again. When I came out, he said he was okay with it bit… Catholic family like that, it just gave them another reason to believe him over me. And when I was sixteen and left school. He – he finally snapped. I didn’t speak to him for months, and I was okay with that. But I saw my Nan and Uncle in the street. God did they scream. My dad had told them that I’d stolen stuff while I’d lived with him. He’d told them I was faking my injury, and that there was nothing wrong with my leg, that I was doing it for attention, that it was my fault what happened to me in the woods. He’s tried to get in touch a few times, sent me and Jake some stuff… We’ve always sent it straight back,” I said.

“Your dad’s an asshole,” Tasha repeated.

“Still no arguments there,” I muttered again, squeezing my hands into fists tightly, letting my nails dig into my palms, trying to stop my hands from shaking, trying to stop the memories from coming back.

Clint reached towards me and I flinched back.

“Verdammte. Scheiße. I’m sorry,” I said in German as he reached out again, drawing me into his arms, I pressed my face into his shoulder, breathing in the smell of bow oil, gunpowder and safety. _Damned. Shit.  
_

_I’m in the tower. I’m safe. Nobody here is going to hurt me. I’m safe._

“It’s okay,” Clint said after I’d taken several deep breaths. “You don’t have to apologise, Cookie. Thank you for telling us,”

“I’ve never told anybody that before,” I mumbled, looking up to rest my chin on his shoulder, looking over at Nat who gave a small smile, coming to stand in front of me as Clint let me go.

“I know what it’s like to feel suddenly safe after years of trusting only a small number of people. But I promise you малютка, you are safe here and we,” she gestured to Clint and herself. “We look after what we call our own,”

Tears stung my eyes and I couldn’t stop them as they ran down my face.

Nat’s cupped my cheek, brushing my tears away with her knuckles, before drawing me into a gentle hug.

“You don’t have to talk to us. But if you want to or need to, then you can. And if you don’t want to talk, we’ll shoot, or spar, or train, whatever you need,” she said, stroking her hand through my hair. “We’re here,”

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but all I could do was sob, as she held me close.

**Chapter Nine**

A couple of hours later after several cookies and an energy drink Nat persuaded me to go and change into something more comfortable and dragged me down to the gym, whilst not so subtly telling Clint he wasn’t invited. Though as he rolled his eyes and pulled himself into the vents, I suspected he’d be in his nest in the gym. Nat took the stairs down to the gym with me without a word.

“I spoke to Charlotte about your leg. She said you can start working out, or kickboxing again, maybe even light dance as long as you don’t overdo it,” she said I looked up at her in surprise. “So, if you want, we’re gonna see what your new leg can do,”

I hesitated and after a moment’s hesitation, I nodded.

We moved around the gym, lifting weights, sit ups, press ups, pull ups on the parallel bars.

She put me through several drills: jogging, stretches, cycling, dance positions and repeat.

“You doing okay?” she asked as I sat, stretching forwards, my head hovering above my knees.

“It feels fine,” I said, wiping the sweat off the back of my neck as I sat up. “It feels better than fine,”

She watched me for a second, as if searching for any hint I was lying or exaggerating.

“You want to try and kick something?” she asked after a minute. I nodded, letting her pull me to my feet.

We went through some basic kicks and twists. Testing how high I can lift my new leg without strain.

“That’s enough for today,” she said. I opened my mouth to argue but she cut me off with a sharp look. “If you overdo it today, you won’t be able to go again tomorrow. That patience you needed to learn to dance, to fire a gun, learnt to walk and fight again. You need to remember that. I will teach you Russian, teach you to fight again, to make your weaknesses your strengths. But this can’t happen overnight, малютка, it’s going to take time, but I can guarantee it will be worth it. Now go shower, rest, and be back here in the morning,”

I walked back up to my room and straight into the shower.Looking down at my leg I smiled softly as I ran my fingers over the scars. I could walk, run and now I was learning to fight again.

Things were finally starting to look good again.

.

I woke early the next morning, dressing in some comfortable workout clothes and headed back down to the gym where Tasha was already waiting.

We went through a series of warm up stretches before moving onto the mats.

We traded slow kicks and hits for a while and I watched her trace each of my movements and reactions, analysing everything I did.

She twisted me round, pinning me to the mat, her weight between my legs as she pinned my hands above my head.

I froze. My breath catching in my throat as she held my wrist in just a way, a familiar way that made my blood run cold and my heart started to race.

Tasha let me go instantly, noticing my change in demeanour, I shook my head, pushing the painful memories away as I stood up.

“Again,” she said. We went through the same movements again before something made me start talking.

“I was raped,” I said suddenly, ducking as Nat kicked up. “That’s what happened when I was twelve. That’s what my dad threw in my face every time we argued. It’s why I was scared to leave my house. I was, am terrified to let men touch me, to let them get close to me,” Something flickered across her eyes but she didn’t say anything.

“It’s stupid,” I continued. “When you look at the people living here. I mean Tony was tortured in a cave for months. Steve literally fought in World War II and woke up to nothing he knew. You and Clint see life time’s worth of horror every time you go out on a mission. God, it’s so stupid and weak!” I jolted backwards as Nat’s elbow hit side of my head. It wasn’t full force but it still hurt.

“Pain isn’t a competition, малютка. It never is,” she said, as I swung my metal leg round, narrowly missing her jaw. “We’ve all been hurt and seen things we wish we could unsee. But that doesn’t make you weak. Having emotions never makes you weak. They make you stronger,” Nat had a steely glint in her eye. Moving to her water bottle, rubbing one of the wide bands on one of her wrists.

Something flickered across her face before she shook her head, her hand dropping from her wrist.

“Let’s keep going,” she said, stepping back onto the mats.

We sparred for a while going over moves again and again until I could perfect them.

We kept going for nearly an hour before Clint swung out of the vent, flipping in mid-air before dropping down to the floor with perfect grace.

In the second I paused to watch him, Nat’s arm came around my neck, pinning me in place.

“Aw c’mon,” I groaned, slamming my hand against the mat twice, Nat’s hands loosened instantly, letting me step away.

“Always be aware of your surroundings, but don’t let them distract you,” Clint said, in his ‘Agent Barton’ voice.

“Easier said than done,” I muttered, tossing a roll of tape at the back of his head. He twisted to the side, snatching it out of the air without looking. “Show off,” I grumbled, catching the tape as he tossed it back, dropping it back on the table.

“Maria’s coming over,” he said. “Tony’s ordering Shawarma later and is demanding everyone’s presence,”

“Maria?” I asked curiously.

“Maria Hill,” he clarified. “Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

I finally placed the name and my face fell.

“What?” Nat asked.

“Nothing. Agent Hill was the one I spoke to after New York,” I said with a slight shrug. _She was the one who told me about Coulson._

“Hill is alright. I just don’t advise getting on her bad side,” Clint said with a wince.

“She’s fine,” Nat said with a roll of her eyes. “Now in the meantime. It’d do you good to spar with someone else. Especially someone with a different fighting style."

I hesitated.

_As much as I trusted Clint it was still something… Wait… What? I trusted him? That was new, but it kinda made sense. I’d let myself be alone with Clint. I’d let Steve comfort me and Tony literally re built my left leg._

_I actually trusted these people._

I gave a choked laugh. Grinning at the two master assassins who were give me an almost identical weird look making me realise I’d just totally zoned out.

“C’mon then Robin Hood. Let’s see what you’ve got,” I said.

Clint gave an easy grin. Tossing his jacket to the side along with his shoes, before stepping onto the mats. I stepped up opposite him and we took position.

Somehow as we sparred I realised ducking Clint’s blows were different than dodging the blows I was ten years ago.

Maybe it was Nat, calling out hints from where she was sitting on top of the parallel bars, swinging her legs happily. Or maybe it was Clint teasing, yet never mocking me, and his hits were never in a way that made me remember.

Well, they didn’t until he grabbed my arm, twisting me around, pulling me back against his chest, pinning my arms to my side as his hands gripped my hips. _Trapped._

I froze. My breath caught in my throat as I tried to focus.

“Darcy?” Someone called. It sounded like Natasha, but she was so far away. “Open your eyes and focus Darcy!” My eyes snapped open. Nat was stood in front of me, while Clint’s arms were still firmly around me. “Focus. Now, how do you get yourself out?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” I choked, shifting my weight, looking for a weak spot. My foot hit his and I paused.

“You’re not going to hurt him,” Tasha assured me.

Taking a steadying breath, I dug my metal heel into his toes. His grip loosened slightly and I managed to jerk my elbow back into his gut. He grunted, but I just stepped back, my leg behind his and then paused.

“Now what are you going to do? Think about where his hands are,” Tasha prompted.

One of his hands had gone to his side where I’d elbowed him, the other was still firmly on my hip.

Grabbing the hand that was on my hip I twisted, knocking him off balance. Pulling his arm round, I flipped him over my shoulder.

“Yeah,” Nat laughed, stepping forward to look down at him. “That’s exactly what you should do. Isn’t that right Clint?”

Clint groaned slightly, letting Nat pull him off the floor.

“Not bad Cookie,” he said rubbing his wrist slightly. “I didn’t know you could do that,”

I scoffed. “I didn’t know _I_ could still do that,” I said with a slight laugh. “I’ve not done that in years,”

“ _Miss Lewis, Doctor Foster would like to know if you’re going to work today?”_ Jarvis asked, I looked up at the clock. _09:26._

“Shit,” I breathed, pulling my hoodie on, zipping it up halfway, I shoved my cell phone in my pocket. “Tell her to not blow anything up in the next half an hour and I’ll be up with food,”

“ _Certainly,”_

“See you later Cookie,” Clint said with a wink making me roll my eyes.

“Have fun with Stark,” Tasha said with a faux sympathetic smile.

I laughed, throwing a wave over my shoulder as I headed to the stairs.

_Here goes another crazy day in the Avengers Tower._

**Chapter Nine  
**

I dragged Jane out of the lab to shower half an hour before Tony was demanding our presence in the common room.

Walking into the common room I paused at the sight of an unfamiliar brunette hugging Pepper.

“Darcy, Jane, this is Agent Hill. Maria this is Doctor Jane Foster and her assistant Darcy Lewis,” Pepper introduced.

“We’ve spoken before I believe,” Maria nodded to me.

“It’s nice to put a face to the name. I’ve heard a lot about you,” I said, gesturing to Clint and Natasha who were sat on one of the couches, bickering in Korean.

Maria rolled her eyes at them.

“Likewise,” she said as I dropped down onto one of the couches. Maria’s eyes flickered briefly down to my leg before accepting the glass of wine from Pepper who proceeded to hand me a bottle of beer.

“So, Pepper tells me Natasha and Clint have been training you,” Maria sat down on the couch next to me. “They don’t just train anyone you know. They have a very strong reputation for training the best,” I gave a slight shrug.

“I’m not that good,” I muttered, a cushion smacked the side of my face.

“Стоп сомневатьоя себя, Малютка,” Tasha said. I scowled, throwing the cushion back, glaring as she caught it effortlessly. _Stop doubting yourself._

“Стоп прослушивания,” I retorted, turning back to Maria who was watching me with a raised eyebrow. _Stop eavesdropping._

“I mean it. Barton trained Bobbi –”

“I didn’t exactly train her,” Clint cut in.

“You kinda did,” Nat said, shrugging at Clint’s scowl.

“Don’t let her hear you say that,” he muttered.

“Coulson also spoke very highly of you,” Maria added softly, stopping the partners bickering. I shifted uncomfortably, suddenly finding peeling the label of my bottle very interesting.

“Stop scaring the kid Hill,” Tony said, wandering over with a glass of scotch.

“I forgot. It’s your job to terrify people,” she said with a smirk. “Did you know after you were on the hellicarrier six Agents handed in their resignations?” she looked at Tony accusingly.

Tony just shrugged. “Then you should be thanking me for getting rid of the weak ones. If they couldn’t handle me then what would they do when they come face to face with the Russian mob?”

“I’d take the Russian mob any day,” Tasha, Maria and Clint said in unison making Tony glare at us as I snorted.

He mumbled something under his breath as he poured himself another glass of scotch.

Jarvis ordered us Shawarma and we moved down to the entertainment floor, where Tony was trying, and failing to beat Clint at pool.

“He’s not going to beat Clint is he?” I asked, watching Tony lose for the third time.

“Doubt it,” Maria said, leaning against the table I was sitting on.

“I could beat him,” Jane said casually, from where she was leaning against the stairs.

Tony scoffed. “What makes you think you’re better than me?” he asked. I smirked. _Nobody beat Jane at pool._

“Because I actually think before I do things,” Jane said with a smirk. Tony gave a mildly affronted look. Before waving his arms in a ‘let’s see then’ gesture.

“C’mon then Foster,” Clint said as he finished resetting the table. “Let’s see what you can do,”

Watching Jane play pool was always funny. Clint’s cocky grin slipped away by Janes second go. She potted her third, fourth, fifth…

I outright laughed at Tony’s scowl and everyone else’s shocked expressions as Jane pocketed the black ball, with all but one of Clint’s still on the table.

“How?” Tony demanded as Jane hopped up next to me, snatching my bottle away to take a swig of my beer.

“Its simple math,” she shrugged, handing the bottle back. “Calculate the angles and measure the distance from the ball to the pocket, then that helps you to work out the amount of force needed to get the ball in the pocket,” she gave another slight shrug as if it were the easiest thing ever. Which to her, I guess it was.

“It’s not possible to do those calculations in just a few seconds,” Tony said.

She smirked. “I’m just that good,”

The night passed in kebabs and fifty different types of expensive alcohol, and god I hope Jarvis was recording Clint doing one handed cartwheels over the pool table, with a shot glass full of vodka in the other hand without spilling a drop, and Tony listing the parts needed to build an Iron Man suit in Italian.

.

I gave a small scream, bolting upright in bed, one hand blindly reaching for my knife, the other for my glasses.

“ _Miss Lewis, you’re safe. You’re in the tower, in your room,”_ Jarvis assured me softly as everything started to come back into focus.

I sighed, folding my knife back over, tossing it on the nightstand as I slid out of bed. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail as I slid my feet into my trainers. Shrugging a purple and black hoodie I stole from Clint on as I shoved my taser in one of the pocket, my cell phone in the other. I made my way down to the gym, walking down the stairs in no particular hurry.

“J, what time is it?” I asked going down the fifteenth floor.

“ _4:02am,”_

I paused slightly. _Three hours sleep, fuck!_

I carried on walking down, expecting the gym to be empty. Neither Clint nor Nat would be up for another hour, but considering last night was one of the rare occasions Clint was drinking something other than beer he probably wouldn’t be up til 6 at the earliest. I stopped short in the doorway. Steve was punching a bag that was pulling dangerously on the chain, he gave a sharp left hook and the chain snapped, sending the bag flying through the air, hitting the wall before falling to the floor with three other broken bags.

I leant against the frame, watching him attach another bag to the chains.

“Now what did that bag ever do to you, Soldier?” I asked, Steve’s head snapped round, looking over at me in surprise. “Couldn’t sleep huh?” I asked, moving to the mats, dropping my hoodie on the table next to him.

“How could you tell?” he asked.

“You’re awake,” I stated simply. Steve snorted slightly, adjusting the wraps on his hands. My eyes drifted around the gym, over his shield that was propped against a rack of weights. I leant against the table as I stretched my arms. “Wanna talk about it?”

He gave a slight shrug. “Just the war. Old missions, places, people…” He trailed off as he shook his head.

“What was it like?” I asked softly. “The forties. My grandparents spent most of the forties in a camp, they got taken from their homes in ’39, taken to Germany. The 107th took the camp in ’45, but my grandparents don’t talk about it. They just pretended that that decade didn’t happen,”

“It was war,” Steve said simply. “Everybody knew a family where someone had gone to war and got a letter and a footlocker home. The world was running on fear, knowing that tomorrow could never come, ‘nd a lot of people accepted that. People weren’t letting fear control them. They were living. Prejudices were put aside for a while. Countries were standing together. Allied on one side or another. It bought out the best in people, and the worse…” Steve’s eyes fixed on the floor, a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke. “None of the men or women that enlisted… None of them went home the same…”

“They never do,” I muttered, my mind drifting to the people at Fort Lewis. The neighbours you’d hear yelling in the night after they got back from a tour. The hollow, empty looks in their eyes as you passed them in the grocery store. The way they flinched as a car back fired two blocks away.

“What about you?” Steve asked, turning the subject around to me. “Wanna talk about it?”

I shrugged slightly, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

“Just old memories,” I said vaguely. “Things have been really good recently. Better than good, and whenever things get good they never last. They always get really bad again,” I found myself telling him.

“You can’t be sure of that,” Steve said gently.

“Yes I can,” I snapped, harsher than I intended. “I was just getting somewhere and they took my leg. I learnt to walk again, I was doing good with Jane and my mom died. Every time I’m happy, or start to feel hope, something bad _always_ happens,” I said angrily.

“My Ma used to tell me that God granted happiness to those who deserved it. Bucky –,” Steve hesitated. “Bucky used to say that was a load o’ shit and that things would always find a balance. That a person who’d have a lifetime of pain would find happiness, it just might take them some time. Maybe that’s what this is Doll, you finding happiness,”

I wanted to laugh at his optimism, but a part of it, the theory of it maybe, a part of it was comforting.

Looking up at him I smiled softly. “Maybe,”

**Chapter 10  
**

Steve was wrong. I just didn’t realise it for another six weeks, four days and sixteen hours.

I’d managed to drag Jane out of the labs for another one of Tony’s “Team Nights” which everyone seemed to translate as “Pick on Darcy Night.”

“I’m going to kill you,” I said through my laughter, picking popcorn cornels out of my hair. Tossing two cushions, one at Clint and the other at Steve.

“Aw, c’mon! Don’t be like that Cookie,” Clint teased as he and Steve caught the cushions easily, throwing them back, without reflexes like theirs, they hit me in the face.

I grunted as I let them knock me to the side, falling into Tasha who laughed, her fingers drifting over my side where my shirt had ridden up. I squirmed away with an involuntary laugh.

“I hate you all,” I muttered, burying my face in the couch cushions.

“Уто бы вы говорите, Маютка,” Tasha said, amusement clear in her voice. _Whatever you say, Little One._

“ _Miss Lewis, you have some visitors,”_ Jarvis announced. My head shot up as I looked up at the ceiling in confusion.

“Who?” I asked sharply.

“ _A Master Sergeant Iain Richards and a Staff Sergeant Mike Davidson. Would you like me to send them up?”_

My eyes widened. _They weren’t due back for another month._

“Let them up,” I whispered, dread forming in the pit of my stomach. I pulled away from Nat, scrambling over the back of the couch to stand in front of the elevator. My fingers clutching the chain around my neck.

The doors slid open and I gave a small gasp at the sight. They were both in full dress uniform.

“Mike?” I asked, my voice weak. His right arm was in a sling, bandages sticking out from under his collar. A grim look in his eyes.

“Mike?” I asked again, realisation washing over me. “No. No. Where is he?”

“I’m so sorry Darce,” His face screwed up in pain.

“Miss Lewis, I regret to inform you that your brother, Staff Sergeant Jacob Lewis, was killed in action,” Richards said, his own eyes glassy. “On behalf of the U.S. Army, I’d like to offer you our condolences,”

“No, no, no,” A sob tore through my voice. Mike stepped forward, slowly reaching out, his good arm going around my shoulders, pulling me against his chest. “He is _not_ dead! Where is he?” I sobbed. Mike pressed something into the palm of my hands and I looked down at the metal dog tags.

“He saved my life, Darce. I tried. He dragged me outta there, but he lost too much blood. I’m sorry. I told him not to come. I tried to save him,” Mike’s voice broke and I felt his own tears drip down into my hair. I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. I just sobbed, clutching at his jacket.

_My big brother was gone. He was dead. There was nothing I could do. He was all the family I had left and now he was gone!_

_._

I don’t know how long we stood there, I didn’t care. But when I finally pulled away enough to look down at the dog tags, turning them over in my hands, my thumb brushing over his name.

“He told me to give these to you,” Mike said, trying to discreetly wipe his eyes.

“Darcy,” I looked up at Iain as he spoke. “Your brother was one of the best,” he said. “I’m sorry,”

Another tear dripped down my face as I reached up to hug him.

“Jake loved you,” he said. I scrunched up my eyes tightly, taking a deep, steadying breath.

“You too. You were like a father to him,” I said. Clutching to him for a second before pulling away, trying to wipe my eyes.

“What about Chelsea?” I asked.

“She didn’t know if you wanted to see her,” Mike said. I looked up at him in confusion. “She’s at a hotel a couple of blocks away,”

“I need to go see her,” I said, trying to step into the elevator but Iain caught my arm.

“I’ll go get her. Bring her here,” he said. I gave a slight nod as he stepped back into the elevator, watching as the doors closed. With a sigh I turned back to the rest of the room.

Steve and Jane were stood slightly behind me. Jane had silent tears running down her face.

Clint was standing several feet behind them, looking at me, his hands buried deep in his pockets, with a grim look on his face.

Everyone else was still standing in the conversation pit. Tasha, Betty and Bruce had their heads slightly bowed. While Tony, his arm around Pepper’s shoulder, was looking over towards the bar. He looked over at me, his eyes flicking to Mike, he gave a slight nod and I gave another slight nod in thanks.

“Stay?” I asked quietly, turning back to Mike. My voice hoarse and cracked. “Stay for a drink. It’s what he would have wanted. We should wait until Chelsea gets here,”

Mike nodded slightly.

Steve and Jane both stepped forwards. Steve reached out and I let him draw me into his chest and I saw Jane move to hug Mike.

“I’m so sorry Doll,” he said and I sniffed slightly. Determined not to cry again. He let me go, stepping around me to shake Mike’s hand as I practically threw myself at Jane.

She wrapped her arms around me tightly, rocking slightly.

“I’m sorry,” Was all she whispered, I sighed. I was going to be hearing that a lot in the next few weeks.

I jumped slightly at a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at Clint. Jane squeezed my arm slightly, letting me turn to Clint who practically picked me up as I buried my head in his shoulder.

“I won’t say sorry,” he muttered, to quiet for anyone else to hear. “But I get it. If you wanna talk,” he said as he put me down, brushing my hair back behind my ear.

 _Thank you._ I signed.

Turning back to Mike, I tugged him forward slightly.

“Mike, there’s some people I’d like you to meet. Captain Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross,” I said going around the room. “Guys, this is Staff Sergeant Mike Davidson. He was my brother’s best friend, they served together,” I said, my voice shaking slightly.

I lead Mike over to the conversation pit, where Tony reached out, squeezing my shoulder slightly.

“I’m sorry Kiddo,” he said quietly.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching out to hug him. “For letting me go and see him off,” If Tony hadn’t let us use the Quinjet, the last time I would have seen my brother would have been at my mom’s funeral.

He didn’t say anything. Pepper squeezed my hand as I pulled away while she, Bruce, Betty and Rhodey offered their quiet condolences.

I sat back down next to Nat, Mike next to me, she reached out letting me lean into her side for a minute. She, like Clint, didn’t say she was sorry and I was grateful.

“If you wanna get drunk, or spar, or talk,” she said too low for anyone else to hear. “I’m here,”

I turned away, trying to wipe away my tears, stilling as she gently took my arm.

“It’s okay to cry,” she said softly, with a sad smile.

She and Clint shifted down the couch as Steve sat between us, letting me lean into his side as I fiddled with the dog tags.

_LEWIS  
JACOB T.  
727-72-8426  
O POS  
NO PREFERENCE_

We sat, a few people making quiet conversation, until the elevator pinged and the lights flashed. Looking around as the doors slid open, I gave a slight cry, jumping over the back of the couch I ran across the room, straight into Chelsea’s arm.

Her arms came around me tightly, as I sobbed, her shoulders shook and I clutched her tighter, jolting away slightly as I realised we were stood at an awkward angle.

“Holy shit,” I breathed, looking at her bump. “Since when?” I asked.

“I found out right after he left. I was gonna surprise him. He didn’t know,” she said, another, single tear trailed down her cheek. Her hands protectively on her bump.

“You should have these,” I said, letting the dog tags hang on the chain between us. “To give to my little niece or nephew,” she took them, running her finger over the name, before reaching out, dropping them around my neck.

Pulling the chain from down my top she lay the two sets of dog tags next to each other on my chest.

“Even though he hardly said it. Your brother loved you more than he could _ever_ love me,” she said softly. “And that’s okay. You were there for each other when you had nobody else. You’ll collect the flag, and you’ll keep his tags,” she said, pressing them against my chest.

“Chelsea, I can’t –,” I broke off as she shook her head, giving me that older sibling look, that told me I wasn’t going to get a say in this. I nodded. Hugging her again. “Thank you,” I breathed softly.

Taking her hand I lead her and Iain down the steps into the conversation pit, where a bottle of Nat’s finest vodka and a shot glass for everyone sat on the table.

“Guys this is Iain Richards and Jakes girlfriend, my sister, Chelsea Grey,” I said. “Chelsea, Iain, this is –,”

“We know who you are,” Chelsea cut in as she hugged Jane. “Thank you for looking after my sister,” she said.

“It’s our pleasure,” Pepper said, I smiled slightly, sitting back down next to Steve, pulling Chelsea next to me as Iain sat on the other side of Mike.

Tasha handed out the shots and everyone raised their glasses in a silent toast. Everyone’s minds drifting to their own friends or family who’d gone to war and never come home…

.

The next two weeks passed in a blur. Jake and Iain flew back to Washington until the funeral while Chelsea had stayed in my spare room.

Tasha woke me up with a soft smile and a cup of coffee.

“Time to get up,” she said gently, setting the mug on my nightstand. I stared at her for a minute, my fingers ghosting over the dog tags that still hung round my neck.

Today was the day I bury my brother.

“Chelsea,” I muttered, pulling myself out of bed.

“Is awake and told me to give you this,” Tasha lay a black dress over the arm chair, a pair of black heels on the floor, it wasn’t particularly short, but it would show my leg, I just couldn’t bring myself to care.

Tasha guided me into the bathroom, leaving me to shower. I dragged myself through the motions, wrapping myself in a towel, I brushed my teeth.

Back in my bedroom, Tasha had changed into a plain black dress with a blazer, her hair pinned back.

I pulled the dress over my head, letting her zip it up. I dried my hair and she helped me with my makeup every time my hands shook. Looking in the mirror, I dropped the two sets of dog tags over my head, letting them hang on my chest.

The dress fell just above my knee’s, the soft lace stopping just below my elbows. I pulled on my shoes and blazer, pushing the sleeves up my forearms as I clipped on my bracelet, sliding my knife and taser into my clutch with my cell phone.

“Clint and I’ll meet you upstairs,” Tasha said. I nodded, only half-listening.

I walked out into the living room where Chelsea was standing in front of the window, looking out at the city, her hands resting on her bump through her black maxi dress.

“Your dad’s going to be there,” Chelsea said softly as I came to stand next to her.

“I know. Mike told me he was causing… issues?” I said.

“He doesn’t know about little one,” she rubbed circles over her belly. “He was poison in yours and Jakes lives. I won’t let him do the same to my baby,”

“Good,” I said firmly.

“ _My_ dad’s gonna be there. I’m gonna go stay with him in New Jersey. I want you to be a part of little ones life. You can see them whenever you want, and they’ll be a Lewis. Just like their daddy, and their brave auntie who lives with superheroes,” she took my hand as tears dripped down her face. “It’s going to be okay, Darce. It’s going to be okay,” her voice cracked, trying to convince the both of us.

“We should go,” I said, trying to brush my tears away.

Chelsea and I walked up to the common room where Clint and Steve were both stood in the kitchen in smart suits and Tasha was on the phone to someone.

The elevator flashed and Jane stepped out, dressed in a knee length black dress, her light hair falling around her shoulders.

She didn’t say anything, just gave a slight supportive smile.

Clint flew a Quinjet out to an empty field in Pennsylvania, just outside of Newtown, where a sleek, black, funeral limo drove us to Washington Crossing National Cemetery.

The drive was short and as soon as I stepped out of the limo, I reached back, clasping Chelsea’s hand tightly.

As everyone gathered, I tensed, spotting my father, with his two brothers and one of my cousins, sitting in the front row, all dressed in black.

Several soldiers from Fort Lewis walked straight past them and came to Chelsea and I to offer their condolences. Given how close we were to our home town, several of Jakes old classmates were seated, slightly further back, giving slight nods of support, or sad smiles when my eyes passed over them.

My other cousin, Rose, slid in next to Chelsea at the last minute leaving a firm separation between us and my father, and to her credit she only briefly glanced back at the three Avengers and astrophysicist sitting directly behind us. Mike and five other familiar friends from Jakes squad carried in the coffin.

The service passed in a blur of tears and kind words of gratitude and honour.

I flinched at each shot of the salute. Closing my eyes to take a steadying breath at the third shot.

Taps finally played, and as they folded the flag, I found myself counting each of the thirteen folds. Tears dripping down my cheeks as Mike handed it over to Iain, who slid the shell casings between folds and came to kneel in front of me.

“This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of your loved ones honourable and faithful service,” Iain said, his voice thick with emotions as he pressed the flag into my hands. A sob caught in my throat and he reached out squeezing my hand slightly before standing back up.

Chelsea’s arm came around me as we stood and they lowered the coffin into the ground. I felt Steve’s hand on my shoulder from behind.

I stared down as the coffin disappeared from sight.

Three words fell from my lips before I could stop them. “Baruch dayan emet.” _Blessed be the one true judge._

My brother was gone.

.

I leant into Steve’s side as we stood in the corner of the bar. Jane, Rose and Chelsea sat at a table a few feet away, talking quietly, while Clint and Tasha were waiting in line to order drinks.

My eyes, however, were fixed the other side of the bar where my father was standing with his brothers and my cousin, Madison, accepting condolences with sweet smiles.

“I can’t deal with this,” I finally muttered, just as Clint and Nat set down the drinks.

Steve looked down at me, but I pushed away from him. Striding across the room to stand in front of him. Ignoring Mike who called out my name warningly.

“Darcy,” My dad, no, He didn’t deserve to be called that anymore, Paul said as I came to stand in front of him. “You look… Well fed,” I clenched my jaw, stopping myself retorting.

“I’d like you to leave,” I said bluntly.

“Excuse me?” he gave a hard look that used to make my blood run cold. I hesitated slightly.

“You need to leave, all four of you,” I repeated forcefully.

“Jake was our family. We have every right to be here,” _Paul_ said arrogantly. I scoffed.

“You have _zero_ right to be here. You might have shared blood with Jake, but you weren’t his family. You hadn’t spoken to him in ten _years._ You _despised_ the fact that he joined the army. You used him and manipulated him and god he _hated_ you. You don’t deserve to even say his name, let alone come here and accept people’s condolences like you lost a child,” I said glaring at him.

“I _have_ lost a child,” he spat, his glare and the way he twisted his body to the side as he set his drink down screamed for me to run.

“You lost your children a decade ago,” I said bitterly.

“Darcy, be reasonable,” Madison said. I laughed slightly.

“This is me being reasonable. This is me doing what Jake would want, what he would do if he were here,” I said.

“But he’s not!” Paul yelled, making me flinch slightly. Several people, soldiers that served with Jake, took a slight step forward. Out of the corner of my eye I saw I saw both Nat and Chelsea stop Clint, Steve and Jane from stepping forwards. “He’s dead! He was an idiot and he got himself killed!” I tensed, a mixture of fear and fury running through my body.

“Jake was a hero,” Mike said, his southern accent slipping back through, anger lacing his voice as he came to stand next me to his hand resting on my shoulder, with a slight reassuring squeeze. “He died protecting his country, protecting his family, and that sure as hell wasn’t you,”

“I will not ask you again. Leave,” I said forcefully.

Paul stepped closer to me, taking his time to let his eyes roam over me.

“You know Darcy. You’re just as selfish as you were back then,” he sneered, shoving passed me. I swayed slightly, as the four of them left.

Low murmurs ran through the bar, as Mike drew me into his chest and I realised I was shaking.

“Breathe Darce. He’s gone, you’re safe,” he said quietly.

_They’re gone._

**Chapter Eleven**

Weeks passed and October faded into November, Nat’s birthday passed and November set into December.

The days seemed to blur together as nothing seemed to matter.

Pepper had to go back to Malibu for some issues with the board and didn’t know when she’d be back, so Tony flew back with her.

So there was just me and five other people in the tower, trying to break me out of the routine I’d got myself stuck in.

Wake up, gym, shower, work, eat, work, eat, sleep, nightmares, repeat.

I went through the same motions day in, day out.

Tasha and Clint would spar with me.

Jane would try and get me to eat more.

Bruce would calmly talk me through my panic attacks, and make me a cup of flavoured tea or a hot chocolate.

And Steve, Steve seemed to always be there, whenever he wasn’t at S.H.I.E.L.D. He’d train with me, gently nudge me to eat, or go out, he’d listen whenever I wanted to talk, or even when I didn’t, he’d just sit with me or he’d tell me stories of Bucky and the Commandos.

Somehow, he’d become a permanent part of my life.

“C’mon Doll,” he walked in to the gym, making me look up from the punch bag. “We’re going out,” he said.

I looked over at him in confusion.

“Did we have plans?” I asked, racking my mind for any plans we might have made.

“No, but we do now. We’re going to central park,” he said decisively.

“Okaaay, can I go and shower first?” I asked. I’d been in the gym for hours, I stunk.

“Sure,” he replied with a roll of his eyes.

I climbed the stairs to my apartment, taking a quick shower, before dressing in a pair of dark red jeans with a white Henley. I pulled on a sleeveless knitted cardigan a wrapped a red knitted scarf round my neck as I pulled on a pair of heeled ankle boots.

I tucked the two sets of dog tags down the front of my top as I pulled on a black wool jacket.

“Jarvis, where is Steve?” I asked, pulling the cap off of one of my red lipsticks.

“ _Captain Rogers is in the garage,” he_ replied, I sighed. Dabbing some extra concealer under my eyes.

“Is he ready to go?” I queried.

“ _He is. He wishes to know if you’d like him to come up and meet you?” he_ asked. I glanced wearily at the door.

“No thanks, J. I’ll meet him down there,” I said, shoving my cell phone and taser in my pockets, not bothering with a purse.

I wedged my knife in the waist band of my jeans at the small of my back, tightening my belt slightly so it wouldn’t move.

Double checking all my pockets I headed to the elevator, as much as I hated small spaces I was not walking sixty something floors, in heels.

As usual, I rested my head against the window, tensing as the elevator lowered underground.

“ _Miss Lewis, you’re safe. You’re in the Tower,”_ Jarvis said, his voice soft.

The elevator stopped, the doors sliding open and I practically tripped over my own feet trying to get out.

_Breathe. In and out. In and out. Focus. You’re safe. In and out. In and out!_

I leant against the wall for a minute, slowing my breathing back down, before looking around the large garage.

The Avengers private garage was one of the lowest level. The only thing below this was security detainment.

Steve looked up from his bike as I walked closer, my heels clicking on the concrete floor.

“You ready?” I asked, he nodded, shrugging on a leather jacket.

“You okay if we take the bike?” he asked, holding out a helmet. I gave a hesitant nod.

“I’ve never been on a bike before. I always said I was going to get one when I was old enough, but then I couldn’t,” I said, pulling the helmet on, swinging my leg over the bike to sit behind Steve, thankful I’d decided to wear jeans.

Steve reached behind him, taking my hands and placing them on his waist.

“Just hold on and lean when I lean,” he said and I nodded. He kicked the bike to life.

It was a less than ten minute ride to Central Park, and Steve parked the bike up at the side of the road, we left our helmets on top and he pressed a button on his keys and a blue bubble seemed to surround the bike, before disappearing.

“Stark made some upgrades,” he said, shoving his keys in his pockets as I smiled slightly, reaching out hesitantly, my fingers bounced back off of an invisible wall.

“Pretty cool,” I muttered.

We walked through Central Park talking about nothing in particular. Steve pulling his hood up as we came passed a group of people, he ducked his head slightly.

“Not that I don’t appreciate the random day trip with you. What’s with the sudden urge to go to Central Park?” I asked as we walked onto the bow bridge, leaning on the rail to look down at the water.

“Darce, you’ve hardly left the tower since the funeral, the balcony doesn’t count. Clint was planning on dragging you out Christmas shopping,” he said and I grimaced. Shopping with Clint was… interesting?

“Thanks for saving me,” I said as we carried on walking, I shoved my hands in my pockets, keeping the warm from the icy breeze, as we walked towards the ice skating rink.

“We never had any of this,” Steve said suddenly, his voice soft as we watched a girl pirouette on the ice, her hair flying out around her head. “People were struggling, especially at Christmas, some people couldn’t even afford a tree, let alone pay to go ice skatin’,” A slight Brooklyn accent slipping into his voice.

“You’ve never been ice skating?” I asked, I don’t know why I was surprised, he was sick, then at war and then he woke up in the ice. He’s probably not been too eager to go anywhere near the cold.

He shook his head.

“Nah, I could never afford it back then. I haven’t really had a whole lot of free time since I’ve been here,” he explained. “What about you?” he looked down at me and I shrugged.

“When I used to try and perfect a dance move or position, I’d go to a local ice rink to perfect my balance. But I haven’t been in years,” I shook my head.

“C’mon,” he said taking my hand.

“Um…” I looked at him in confusion as he tugged me towards the counter where they were handing out skates.

“You can teach me to skate,” he said, dropping my hand to pull out his wallet.

“I have no money,” I said, gesturing to my lack of purse. He shrugged, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and a five, handing them over to the girl, telling her to keep the change.

“Tony said your leg could do anything a normal one could do, right?” he asked, I looked up at him as if he were insane. “Darce?” he prompted.

“Er, yeah. I think so,” I snapped back to reality, unlacing my boots and swapping them for a pair of white skates. “This is insane,” I muttered as I finished lacing the skates up and walked over to where Steve was waiting by the gate an amused look on his face.

Steve stepped on the ice first, looking slightly unsteady, but he quickly seemed to regain his balance as he clutched the rail.

I stepped up, and just stood for a second, feeling the ice under my skates, before pushing off. It was like riding a bike, slightly different with my new leg but it seemed to come back to me pretty quickly.

Steve as it turned out, super soldier or not, was terrible at ice skating. His extra reflexes seemed to do nothing as he lost his balance and his backside hit the ice heavily, for the fourth time.

I laughed slightly as I spun round in front of him, he stared up at me with a dopey smile.

“What?” I asked with a slight giggle.

“I’ve not heard that in a while. It sounds good,” he said, and I gave a soft smile.

We skated for a while longer and Steve finally started to get the hang of it, going his fourth lap without falling over or hanging onto the rail.

I grinned as he stumbled slightly, gripping my hand a little tighter.

If Steve could learn to ice skate then maybe there was hope for us all. Maybe things would be okay.

**Chapter Twelve  
**

As it turned out, Clint still dragged me out Christmas shopping, pulling me through a mall and wining like a small child.

“Aw, c’mon! Tasha would love that!” He said, gesturing to the box of Avengers action figures.

“She’d throw the Black Widow at your head and yell at you for buying a doll with unrealistic proportions to a female body,” I said looking at the hourglass figure on the doll, and creepily long legs. “Do you guys approve this?” I asked scanning through the Avengers merchandise.

“No,” Clint snorted, looking through the other dolls.

“I thought not,” I muttered. “I mean Tasha has way less merchandise than anyone else,” Noting the distinct lack of Black Widow merchandise on the racks, and the few dolls that dotted the shelves were out of proportion.

“C’mon Dude! This was my favourite top!” An angry female voice rang down the aisle.

Clint and I looked up to see a young woman, maybe in her late teens glaring at a middle aged guy, an empty coffee cup on the floor and a dark stain spreading on her lilac top.

“This is going to go badly,” Clint muttered with a slight smirk.

I looked up at him in confusion.

“Well you should look where you’re going,” The guy spat at her.

“ _I_ should look where I’m going? Dude, I was standing still, looking for a Hawkeye toy for my dog to chew and _you_ walked into me,” she snapped.

Clint mumbled something under his breath and I caught the words ‘ungrateful’ and ‘kid’.

“You spilt my coffee,” The guy glared at her and she looked away, running a hand through her long, dark hair in annoyance.

Her eyes scanned the aisle, pausing on Clint for a second, she scrunched up her face in confusion, before narrowing her dark eyes.

She turned back to the guy.

“Look man, apologise and I won’t bill you for dry cleaning,” she said. The guy huffed loudly, before muttering something under his breath. “I didn’t hear you asshole,” she said, the guy shuffled slightly.

“I’m sorry,” he grumbled quietly.

The girl gave a satisfied nod before spinning on her heel, striding down the aisle towards us, she came to a stop in front us.

“Still picking fights I see,” Clint commented. “Ya know, that’s probably not the best of ways to spend your time,” The girl’s eyes narrowed as she punched Clint’s shoulder. “Aw, c’mon! What was that for?” My eyes widened in surprise.

“I’ve heard _nothing_ from you in _months_ and then suddenly you turn up here lecturing me on getting into fights!” She exclaimed suddenly, her anger turning to Clint.

Clint looked up at her, guilt washing over his face.

“I’m sorry Katie,” he said.

She glared at him for another second before reaching out, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him tightly.

“You better be,” she muttered, before pulling away.

I cleared my throat awkwardly, drawing their attention.

“Who’s this? Has Natasha got bored of your ass already?” she asked.

“Kate this is Darcy Lewis, she lives and works in the tower. Darce, meet Kate Bishop, Protégée wanna be and all round tag along,” he said gesturing between us.

“Nice to meet you,” I said with a small smile which she returned.

“And for the record,” Clint turned back to Kate. “Natasha loves my ass,”

.

After a while Kate had to go back to school and Clint and I drifted through a few more shops, grabbing things here and there until his phone chimed.

“Mind making a detour?” he asked, looking up from his phone.

“Sure. Where are we going?” I asked, as he tapped a reply to whoever text him and slid his phone back in his pocket.

“I need to stop by S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria won’t tell me why though,” I nodded. We got a cab across Manhattan, stopping a block away from the S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, walking the rest of the way.

We stepped in, through the automatic doors and I looked around the large, bright lobby.

Most people were wearing the same black suit, a couple of people were wearing black basic tactical gear, while some wore navy blue suits and a few people were wearing lab coats.

“The people in black tac gear are the lower Agents, maybe level two or three at the highest. The people with Navy blue on their suits are field Agents, like Tasha and I. The people in suits, are either officers or admin staff. The officer’s suits tend to be more expensive and better fitting,” Clint explained and my mind flickered to Coulson, who always wore an immaculate, perfect fitting suit. “People with plain white lab coats are medical, and if they have a logo on then they just work in the science division,”

I nodded in understanding as we walked over to the security desk where a guy in a black security suit stood up, he pushed a small pad towards Clint who pressed his thumb down on it, before letting the guy hold up a miniature retinal scan that I’d seen blueprints for in Tony’s work shop.

“ _Welcome Agent Barton,”_ A cool female voice said from the computer system.

“And her?” The guard turned to me.

“She’s with me, not an Agent,” Clint said in his more professional voice, as he grabbed a badge from behind the desk. He scribbled my name on it and clipped it to my jacket. “We’re going straight to see the Deputy Director anyway. She has the clearance,”

The guard narrowed his eyes but nodded, clearly trusting Clint’s judgment.

We walked to the back of the lobby, stopping several feet in front of the elevators.

“Twelve floors?” he asked with a raised eyebrow and I shrugged, reaching forward to press the button.

_I’m in a S.H.I.E.L.D. base. I’m with Clint. I’m safe!_

I stepped inside the small ish elevator, and unlike the ones in the tower, this had no windows. Just three walls lined with mirrors.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the wall, forcing myself to take deep, exaggerated breaths.

The elevator stopped and I heard Clint say something to someone before it started to move again.

It stopped again, several seconds later and Clint put his hand on my shoulder.

“C’mon. You’re safe,” he said. I opened my eyes as the doors slid apart and I stepped out.

We were in a corridor with glass walls, into each room.

I followed Clint down past a large gym, a pool, four locker rooms, a gun range, a knife throwing range, a large weapons room that looked as if it had every single type of weapon ever invented on a shelf somewhere.

We reached the far end of the corridor to the only room that wasn’t made of glass.

Clint punched a number into the pad and pushed the door open.

It turned out to be another, smaller locker room with just two rows. Clint led me down the second one, dropping our bags on the bench as my eyes scanned over the names.

_C.Barton – Hawkeye_

_N.Romanoff – Black Widow_

_S.Rogers – Captain America_

_M.Hill_

_P.Coulson_

_J.Sitwell_

_M.May_

“Those last three aren’t used any more. Sitwell and May don’t really do field work much anymore. Maria doesn’t much, but she’s based here at the minute,” he said as he pressed his thumb to the sensor on his locker, pulling the door open.

Inside on a shelf was a S.H.I.E.L.D. tac suit and below that hung a quiver with a black case that I knew contained his bow.

We left our stuff in his locker and took the elevator up another three floors.

We wound through several corridors, past some cubicles and through a door that had. _Field Operations_ printed on the glass.

“ _Say Cheese,”_ The AI said through the wall panel as Clint went through another retinal scan.

“Say cheese?” I asked with a slight scoff. “That’s not very S.H.I.E.L.D. –y,”

“Tony programed an AI for Fury, to make everything automated,” he said in a way of explanation. “But given how protective he is with his stuff, he built ten different unbreakable firewalls so that Fury either took the code how it was or didn’t have it at all,”

I snorted. That sounded like something Tony would do.

We walked down another corridor into a situation room, where Maria was talking to a guy in a black tac suit, leather straps crossing across his chest. They looked up as we came in and the guy narrowed his eyes at me.

“Who’s this?” he asked looking down at me.

“Darcy this is Brock Rumlow. Rumlow this is Darcy Lewis,” Maria said vaguely.

“She doesn’t have clearance to be in here,” he said, making me roll my eyes.

“Dude, I live in the top floors of the Avengers Towers, I have full access to Tony Starks labs. I think I have higher clearance than you do,” I snapped.

“She has a point,” Maria said, her voice firm. “Although Miss Lewis isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, she still has enough clearance to be here,”

I couldn’t help but smirk at Rumlows scowl.

“So, what’s going on?” Clint asked, Maria handed him a file which he flicked open, turning it slightly so I couldn’t read it, though I did catch the words ‘Mandarin’ and ‘bombings’ whatever the hell that meant.

“There normally needs to be a target before I can accept a mission,” he said, not looking up from the file.

“This is all we have. They don’t want S.H.I.E.L.D. to have any say in this. We’ve been making too much noise the past few years. We’re their last resort. If it comes to it though, this’ll be yours and Romanoff’s mission,” Maria said sharply and Clint nodded. I didn’t ask who ‘they’ and ‘their’ was.

“What’s the current threat level?” he asked.

“No immediate threat,” she said and Clint nodded again, flipping the file closed and he handed it back to her.

“If that changes let me know,” he requested and Maria nodded. “Am I cleared to know when Nat’s due back?”

“She’ll be back today,” Maria said. A brief smile crossed Clint’s face as he nodded a third time.

“I’m borrowing a car. I’m not paying for a cab back to the tower,” he told her, his voice softer, more Clint than Agent Barton.

Maria rolled her eyes.

“There’s a surprise,” she said. “Now get outta here Barton. Some of us have work to do,”

Clint gave her a mock salute. “Yes ma’am,” he gave a nod to Rumlow who was still scowling as we headed back towards the elevator.

“What was that about?” I asked as the elevator doors slid closed.

“Terrorists, unknown tech and the CIA being dicks,” he said.

I gave a slight laugh. “Just the usual then,”

**Chapter Thirteen  
**

I lay back on the couch in the common room the next day. Natasha had got back from her super-secret mission and then she and Clint were immediately called out on another one.

Tony and Pepper were still in Malibu, so the only people currently living in the tower were me, Steve, Jane and Bruce. Steve who had already gone to bed, Jane was probably still in her lab and I’d finally managed to drag Bruce away from Science to go to bed. So that left me, half listening to some cheesy Christmas film as it neared eleven pm while I scanned through Amazon on my Stark Pad, doing a last bit of Christmas shopping.

“ _We interrupt your viewing to bring you Breaking News,”_ My head snapped round to the TV. _“There has been an explosion at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. Witness reports are saying that there was a fight followed by one of the men exploding. A suicide bomber is suspected –,”_

The screen flickered before going red, a black symbol appearing before playing a video, which was neither the news nor the film that was on before.

“ _True story of fortune cookies,” The voice said as a video showed a man getting out of a Humvee. “They look Chinese, they sound Chinese. But they’re actually an American invention…”_

“Jarvis, what’s going on?” I asked, sitting up straighter. Staring at the TV with wide eyes. It was showing footage of terrorists in the Middle East.

“ _All channels are playing the same video,”_ Jarvis said. _“It seems the stations have lost control of what is airing,”_

“That’s impossible,” I muttered.

“ _Which is why they’re whole, full of lies and leave a bad taste in the mouth. My disciples just destroyed another cheap American knockoff. The Chinese Theatre. Mr President, I know this must be getting frustrating, but this season of terror is drawing to a close. And don’t worry, the big one is coming. Your graduation,”_ The man, the mandarin on screen shot a picture of the President, his supporters around him cheered.

The screen flickered back to normal and the news reporter looked panicked.

“ _So it’s been confirmed that the man known only as the Mandarin has taken responsibility for the bombing of the Chinese Theatre. There was several fatalities confirmed and another man was badly injured is rumoured to work for and is a close friend of Tony Starks,” The woman said._

My eyes widened.

“Jarvis, who’s been hurt? Pepper? Tony?” I forced myself to breathe.

“ _Mr Hogan has been taken to hospital and is in a critical state. Sir and Miss Potts are on their way to the hospital now,”_ Jarvis said and I nodded.

Happy, was in a critical state. Happy who had just been promoted to the head of security. Pepper’s new bodyguard, taking the role very seriously and reporting back to Tony the second he thought anything was amiss.

I stayed by the TV throughout the night, switching to a news channel, watching the reports, waiting for any word.

The sun rose and shone through the window, and I moved to the kitchen to make another cup of coffee, watching the woman stand outside the hospital, repeating the same message for a third time.

As I sat back down the reporters seemed to rush to the doors where Tony walked out sunglasses on a tight, angry expression on his face as he pushed through the flocking reporters to his car.

“ _Mr Stark is there anything else you can tell us?”_

“ _Mr Stark what’s going to happen?”_

“ _Hey Mr Stark!”_ One reporter said as Tony was about to get in the car. _“When is somebody gonna kill this guy?”_

Tony hesitated, turning back to face the young journalist and the rest of the reporters fell silent.

“Aw shit,” I muttered, in no way was this going to go well.

“ _Is that what you want?” Tony asked. “Here’s a little holiday greeting I’ve been wanting to send to the Mandarin. I just didn’t know how to fraise it until now. My name is Tony Stark and I am not afraid of you. I know you’re a coward, so I’ve decided…” Tony pulled off his sunglasses, anger seared through his eyes but something else, a mixture of fear and exhaustion was just as evident as he glared at the camera. “You just died Pal. I’m gonna come and collect the body. There’s no politics here, just good old fashioned revenge. There’s no pentagon, it’s just you and me. And on the off chance you’re a man, here’s my home address: 10880 Malibu Point, 90265. I’ll leave the door unlocked.”_ Tony plucked the reporters cell out of his hand “That’s what you wanted right?” he threw the phone at the wall, ignoring the surprised gasps of the press. “Bill me,” he spat, he slid into the car and pulled away before anyone could say anything.

“Jarvis?” I asked, staring at the TV in shock.

“ _Yes Miss Lewis?”_

“Please tell me I just imagined Tony threatening a terrorist and then giving the world his home address,” I said.

“ _I’m afraid not,”_ Jarvis said.

“Aw shit. Wake Steve and Bruce up please J, and tell Jane to get out of her lab this second because it’s an emergency,” I instructed then glanced down at my mug. “I need more coffee,”

Steve, Bruce and Jane appeared ten minutes later as the TV was now showing an aerial view of Tony’s house.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked. “Jarvis said there was an emergency,” he said, shield in hand. “Wait, isn’t that Tony’s house?”

“Jarvis replay the footage please,” I requested and the TV rewound, re-playing Tony’s threat.

Bruce pulled his glasses off and rubbed his nose with a slight groan.

“Did he just threaten a terrorist?” Jane asked with a shocked expression.

“Yes, and in doing so he gave the worlds media his home address,” I said.

Steve rubbed a hand over his face tiredly.

I grabbed my cell and tried to dial Pepper’s number for a third time only this time she actually answered.

“ _Darcy,” she_ said, a frustrated tone to her voice.

“ _Tell Lewis this isn’t the best time!”_ I heard Tony call out in the background.

“I’m sorry Tony I thought now was the perfect time, it’s not like you just threatened a terrorist or anything,” I snapped sarcastically. “What the hell is going on?” I demanded.

“ _Happy’s in the hospital, he’s stable for now,”_ Pepper assured me. _“We’re making plans to get out of town,”_

“ _No we’re not! I’m not leaving!” Tony said angrily._

“ _Yes Tony we can’t stay here!”_ She almost shouted back and I pulled the phone away from my ear slightly.

Steve glared at my phone with the ‘You’ve disappointed Captain America, therefore you’ve let down your entire country’ look that had made grown ass men cry.

“ _We can’t goto New York it’s not like they don’t have that address,”_ Tony snapped, I tensed, hearing Pepper’s breath catch. _“Darcy give the phone to Steve or Natasha,”_

I silently held out the phone to Steve who took it with a confused expression.

“Pepper?” he said then hesitated. “Tony… Natasha and Clint are due back this afternoon… I can try and get hold of Maria… I don’t have the authorisation…” Steve glanced up at me and nodded. “Okay, we’ll be fine, don’t do anything stupid,” Steve hung up the phone, handing it back to me.

“I need to call Maria, nobody leaves this floor,” he said, in his Captain America voice.

The three of us nodded as he walked out onto the balcony with his own phone in hand.

Jane dropped down into the conversation pit with a sigh as Bruce went to make tea, returning a minute later with three mugs, he handed one to Jane and set one to the side for Steve, he sunk back into the couch with his own mug of tea.

We sat in silence, watching for any news as I absently scrolled through my StarkPad, as I flicked through various social media accounts.

 _Tony Stark_ was trending on all of them.

Steve came back in several minutes later, sliding the door shut slowly and as he turned back to us, I noticed the mildly concerned look across his face.

“Does anyone have any immediate plans to leave the tower?” he asked.

I shook my head. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere.

“Good,” he said, then turned to me. “Darcy, I need you to lock down the top floors of the tower, all of the Avengers floors. Send _everybody_ home. Once they leave nobody comes in or out without clearance from me,”

“I can’t do that,” I said. “Only Tony or Pepper have the authorisation codes,”

“Tony said he knows you’ve been in both the Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D. servers and that besides him you are the only other person that has the ability to initiate lockdown manually,” he said and my eyes widened as I stared at him for a minute.

_Tony knew I hacked Stark Industries and hadn’t fired me, or gotten me arrested. Tony thought I actually had the capability to get through layers of Stark Code?_

I mentally shook myself taking a deep breath I nodded. Dropping to my knees in front of the coffee table I rolled my shoulders back.

“Jarvis, give me a keyboard. It’ll be easier than doing it on my phone,” I said, a holographic keyboard appeared on the table and a screen appeared in front of me.

I got to the final stages and paused. I couldn’t get any further without the code.

As if on cue my phone vibrated, glancing down at it I smiled slightly.

_From: Tony;_

_I told you so! 589-621-65._

I rolled my eyes, punching in the numbers.

“Done,” I declared, slamming my finger on the enter key dramatically.

It took a second before the red light on the elevator started to flash.

“ _Initiating lockdown. Would all personnel please leave the building. Initiating lockdown. Would all personnel please leave the building,”_ Jarvis’ voice rang out across the speakers, and we watched on the feeds as staff looked up in panic, rushing towards an exit.

“Jarvis, give me access to the PA system,” I requested. Another button appeared in front of me and I held my finger down on it. “Ladies and Gentlemen this is Darcy Lewis. Would you please _calmly_ make your way out of the building, for several days paid leave,” I said, my voice echoing through the room. I lifted my finger off the button and turned back to the feed, people seemed to be moving in a more orderly fashion than before, and we watched as the last few people evacuated the Avengers floors.

The doors sealed themselves and the lights stopped flashing.

“ _Lockdown complete,”_ Jarvis announced. The room fell eerily quiet, all devices other than the holographic screen had automatically shut off and the lights had switched to emergency lighting.

“What now?” Jane asked, looking around the room.

“All of the doors to leave the Avengers floors have been sealed, including the ones for the balcony’s and landing pad. They cannot be opened without my authorisation code,” I explained. “All automatic doors have be disabled, you’ll need to use the security pads at most of the doors. All non-essential communications have been disabled. My cell, Steve’s and the ones in the situation rooms still work, Jarvis is still there, but the only other person he can contact is Tony,”

“Good,” Steve nodded. “Nobody goes below the 60th floor,”

I reached out tapping the holographic keyboard the lights brightened back to normal.

Bruce and Jane disappeared up to the labs, while Steve dropped down next to me.

“What do we know about this Mandarin?” he asked, I took a deep breath reaching out for my tablet.

“How long have you got?”

.

“ _Captain Rogers, Miss Lewis. Agents Romanoff and Barton are just landing and they’re requesting access to enter,”_ Jarvis announced. I tossed my tablet to the side, watching as it automatically closed the file I was reading.

I moved over, past the dining table to stand in front of the door, watching as the quinjet touched down and I waited as Clint and Nat walked down the ramp, both looking slightly battered.

Tapping the glass, the keypad lit up and I punched in the override code, letting the door swing in towards me.

“What the hell happened to you two?” I asked as Tasha limped past me.

“The whole thing was a set up. We were sent straight into a trap,” Clint said with a glare as he lowered himself down onto a dining chair with a slight wince as I pushed the door closed, retyping the code to lock it.

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, his arms folded across his chest as Natasha sat opposite Clint, unlacing her boots roughly.

“It was supposed to be a simple mission, just getting Intel, easy in and out. The place was crawling with terrorists,” he explained briefly, looking over at Nat in concern as she pulled up the leg of her cat suit slightly, showing her swollen ankle that had faded into shades of blue and purple.

“Jarvis, can you ask Bruce to come down here please?” Steve asked, ignoring Natasha’s scathing look. I slid round to the freezer, tossing her an ice pack as they spoke.

“ _Certainly,”_ Jarvis replied.

“Did you get the intel?” Steve asked, Nat gave the briefest of nods. She pulled her foot up onto another chair, dropping the ice pack on top of it, while she sat up slightly straighter, unzipping her suit, not seeming to care that her black laced bra was now on view to everybody.

Steve cleared his throat slightly, his eyes dropping to the floor as she pulled a paper file and a flash drive from somewhere inside her suit, she dropped them down onto the table, re zipping her suit.

“We heard about what Stark did,” Clint commented, making Natasha’s lips thin dangerously.

“It was reckless,” she commented as she flicked the file open.

The elevator flashed and I glanced round at Bruce and Jane, Bruce moved in front of Natasha, pulling the ice pack off of her foot to look at it while Jane came to stand next to me a worried look on her face.

Clint snatched the file from Tasha’s hands, his eyes widening as he swore softly.

“What?” Steve asked sharply.

“I guess the mystery of who kidnapped Stark a few years back isn’t such a mystery anymore,” he said, tossing the file onto the table.

I gasped slightly, not reading what it said but my eyes were drawn to the picture at the bottom. Tony knelt on the floor, bandages crossed across his chest as he looked half unconscious, with several masked men who each had a semi-automatic weapon pointed at his head.

“The Mandarin was behind what happened to him in Afghanistan?” Bruce asked, glancing up from where he was wrapping Natasha’s ankle.

“That’s their flag,” Tasha said with a slight shrug, tapping the red flag that was behind Tony’s head. “It was never confirmed exactly how many people Stane was selling to under the desk,” she explained. “We could never actually confirm who was responsible,”

I stifled a yawn as I turned away from them, pouring myself another cup of coffee, the sleepless night starting to catch up with me.

I turned back to the conversation, leaning my elbows on the counter only to be met with four disapproving looks and Tasha’s raised eyebrow.

“What?” I snapped.

“When was the last time you slept?” Clint asked, looking up at me and I shrugged.

“Four am, yesterday,” Jane said and I glared at her as Clint and Steve both sighed.

“Traitor,” I muttered. “There are more important things to do than sleep right now,” I pointed out, then winced as both Jane and Bruce looked up at me in disbelief. That was what Jane told me literally ever day before I dragged her to bed.

The TV across the room’s volume suddenly raised.

“ _It appears to be an unknown projectile, heading towards the mansion, it’s presumed to be a missile,”_

I rushed across the room, vaguely aware of everyone behind me, sure enough the news showed a missile heading straight for the house.

“ _As far as we know Mr Stark and Miss Potts are still inside along with another, unknown woman who entered the house not five minutes ago,”_ The anchor said.

The missile went through the side of the building, a large explosion blowing outwards into the sea.

We watched as three unmarked black helicopters flew towards the mansion.

Natasha said something in Russian, too fast for me to catch.

Each helictor fired another missile and we could do nothing but watch the house blow up, section by section.

With each explosion the cliff shook, and the house seemed too cling to the edge of the cliff, a flash of scarlet, something shot out of the house before seconds later it flew back in.

The press helicopters seemed to hang back slightly and as they zoomed in the picture went grainy.

Something flew out of the window, hitting into the chopper in the middle.

“Was that a piano?” Jane asked with a slight, choked laugh.

“They’re switching to machine gun fire,” Clint noted. “Someone’s still alive in there,”

A white light shot out of the window hitting the second helicopter, it spun off course, and it crashed into the side of the house.

“That was a repolser beam,” Tasha said, her voice tense.

The helicopter hit the side of the house and it seemed to reach it’s tipping point, the house slid down the side of the cliff, dropping everything from a Christmas tree to what looked like an Aston Martin dropped into the ocean.

My eyes widened, there was nothing, no flash of Hot Rod Red, no white repolser beam. Just an earie silence as the News reporter seemed to be at a loss for words.

The final helicopter circled around flying back across, out of the shot.

A stray piece of rubble seemed to slide off the cliff and as it splashed into the water and just like that, it was over.

.

Nothing happened for a minute, and then everything seemed to happen at once.

Natasha and Steve lunged for their phones, Jane spun round pacing up and down, Bruce dropped down onto the couch, his head in his hands as he took several deep breaths and Clint stepped back slightly, his eyes scanning over everyone, settling on me for a second before dropping wearily to land on Bruce.

“Hill, I don’t give a rat’s ass what chaos your office is in right now, you told us there was no immediate threat. What the fuck just happened?” Natasha demanded angrily at her phone.

“Director, with all due respect, I need a sit-rep,” Steve said, his body tense as his voice was hard.

“Jarvis?” I asked, my voice wavering slightly. “You still there?”

“ _Yes, Miss Lewis. I am fully functional within the tower,” he_ replied, and if an AI could sound worried…

“Call Pepper,” I said.

“ _Connecting you to Miss Potts cell phone,”_ A holographic photo of Pepper appeared as it rung.

“ _Darcy?”_ Pepper’s voice shook, it sounded like she was, or had been crying, everyone gave a consecutive sigh of relief. _She was alive!_

“Pepper! Are you okay?” I asked.

“ _I’m fine. Tony got me out, but he was inside when it fell. They can’t find – They don’t think… They think he’s dead,”_ My breath caught in my throat as my eyes burnt.

Clint stepped forward, his hand on my shoulder.

“Pepper, reports are saying that there was a third person in the house. Who was it?” he asked.

“Maya Hanson. She’s a Botanist, Tony knew her in the 90’s, she’s here. I got her out,” Pepper said.

I looked up in confusion. _Maya Hanson… Why did that name sound familiar?_

I shook my head, pushing the thought away.

Clint and Nat exchanged looks, Tasha shrugged.

Clint looked down at Bruce who also shrugged.

“Never heard of her,” he said. Jane shook her head in agreement.

“Darcy?” Steve prompted and I meantally shook myself.

“Huh?” I asked, looking up to see everyone staring at me.

“Maya Hanson. You reacted to the name,” Natasha said, her cell phone pressed into her shoulder. “Do you know her?”

“I knew _a_ Maya Hanson. She used to spend a lot of time talking to amputee’s, at JBLM. But it couldn’t have been her if she’s a Botanist,” I said with a slight apologetic shrug.

“Jarvis, run a background,” Steve said, cutting off whoever he was on the phone to.

“ _Certainly Captain,”_

“ _I have to go,”_ Pepper said. _“A load of people in suits want statements,”_

“Start with S.H.I.E.L.D.” Natasha said. “They’ll know more than anyone else,”

“ _I will do. Nobody talks to the press or anybody, unless something major happens and I’m not there to stop the panic. Oh and Darcy?”_

“Erm, yeah?”

“ _Nice job on the lockdown. You really should stop hiding your skills,”_

Without another word Pepper hung up, and despite everything that was happening, heat rose to my cheeks.

It wasn’t every day that the CEO of the world’s biggest tech company told you ‘Nice job’ so casually.

.

The sun set over Manhattan and I curled up at the edge of the conversation pit, trying, and failing to keep my eyes open.

I felt the couch dip slightly and I started at the gently hand on my arm.

My eyes shot open as I looked up at Steve.

“Hey Doll,” he said softly. “C’mon, you should get to bed,” I shook my head petulantly. “Doll, it’s not gonna be comfortable to sleep here,”

“I don’t wanna be on my own,” I muttered sleepily, resting my head back against my arms.

Steve sighed, reaching taking my hand to pull me up to my feet, his arm going around my shoulders as I stumbled slightly.

“C’mon, I have a spare room,” he said, guiding my up the steps, my foot caught on the top step and I winced, he only just caught me before I hit the floor. “Darcy, can I pick you up?” he asked.

I hummed, feeling myself nod.

A hand under my knee and another round my shoulders made me tense.

“Sweetheart, it’s just me. It’s Steve,” he said, I opened my eyes, blinking up at him and let myself relax. _It’s Steve, its safe._

My eyes drifted shut again and my head dropped down against his collar bone.

I faintly heard a door open and close and the sounds of sneakers on the floor as things drifted back into darkness.

I stirred slightly as I was lowered onto a soft bed, I blinked groggily up at Steve.

“You’re in my apartnment sweetheart. Go back to sleep,” he said, his voice soft as his fingers ghosted across my forehead, brushing my hair away from my face.

“Hmm,” I hummed, settling further into the pillows as a blanket was pulled over my shoulders. “Night Steve,” I mumbled.

I thought that Steve said something in reply, but I was already asleep.

.

“ _You’re worthless, you know that don’t you?” My father leered over me. “Nobody’s going to love someone as selfish as you, you’re already whoring yourself out. You aren’t even thirteen and you’re sleeping with guys in the park, you don’t have any self-respect,” he spat and thirteen year old me sobbed. “Nobody will care for you, they’ll get tired of you and you’ll be on your own again, just like you deserve,”_

_One memory seemed to fade into another and I was sitting on a desk in Tony’s lab watching while he was editing blueprints for my new leg._

“ _Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice quiet. Tony’s fingers faltered over the hologram._

“ _Why wouldn’t I?” he asked instead of answering, I shrugged slightly as he looked up at me._

“ _You hardly know me. I haven’t even been here that long,” I said, doubt shining in my voice._

“ _Because I can,” he said simply. “I have the money and capability to make somebody’s life better, I have no right to do anything less,” His voice was surprisingly soft._

“ _I don’t des –,” I cut off at his sharp look._

“ _You think you don’t deserve it?” Something in Tony’s eyes that I couldn’t read. “Darcy, you come in here and make sure we all eat, you argue the Hulk into taking a nap, I’ve seen you threaten the Black Widow into taking a break, you force me to leave my lab at nights, you talk Captain America through pop culture, and when he freaks out at new stuff you talk him through it. When Thor was here he talked about his shield sister who felled him with her box of lightening. You care about us more as people than Avengers. How can you honestly think we wouldn’t care in return?”_

_Tony’s emotion filled eyes faded into the news footage, the house sliding off of the cliff and Pepper’s voice echoing in my ears._

“ _They think he’s dead,”_

“ _Nobody will care for you, they’ll get tired of you and you’ll be on your own again, just like you deserve,”_

I screamed, shooting up right, my eyes flying open.

_This isn’t my room. Where am I?_

“Darcy, Sweetheart. You’re safe. It was just a dream,” My head whipped round, Steve was kneeling next to the bed, dressed in sweats and a shirt, his hand dropped on the bed, like he wanted to reach out, but was hesitant to do so.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I’m sorry,” I said breathlessly, running a hand through my hair.

“Ssh, Doll. You don’t need to apologise, you’re okay,” he said, he slowly slid onto the bed to sit next to me, reaching out to rest his hand on my shoulder and I found myself leaning into his touch.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked, leaning against the headboard, letting me rest my head on his chest.

“Just a mixture of memories,” I said. “Some good and some… shitty,” I mumbled, already drifting asleep. I felt Steve shift as if to stand up and I tensed, grabbing at his shirt.

“Stay?” I requested, looking up at him blearily.

He smiled slightly, sliding back into place.

“Sure Sweetheart, go back to sleep,” he said softly. I settled my head back on his chest, the steady thump of his heart, and his fingers, gently combing through my hair lulled me back into a peaceful sleep.

**Chapter Fourteen  
**

I awoke blearily with a yawn, tensing at the warm body pressed against my back, I stared out of the windows as memories of last night, Steve carrying me to his spare room, me waking him up in the middle of the night, me asking him to stay with me…

Heat rose to my cheeks as I rolled over, Steve was still sleeping soundlessly, and I took a second to study him.

He looked different, like a normal twenty seven year old, not troubled by the war or the loss of his friends.

He looked peaceful.

“You know it’s rude to stare,” he said without opening his eyes and I blushed as he looked up at me with a slight smile.

“ _Captain Rogers, Miss Lewis. Agent Romanoff is requesting your presence in the Common Room,”_ Jarvis said and Steve sighed, pulling himself up, he ran a hand through his hair as he reached for the door.

“Steve,” I called out softly and his hand paused on the handle. “Thank you, for last night,” I said.

“Your welcome, Sweetheart,” he said with a smile before disappearing, leaving the door ajar.

I pulled myself out of bed, straightening the covers slightly before following after him.

While each of the apartments in the tower were the same, they were also different.

Tony’s was bright reds and golds, with Pepper’s softer touches of caramel. Clint’s was mostly various shades of cream, with slight pieces of dark brown and black thrown in. With the occasional purple or red lamp. Thor’s apartment was still basic, Jane had moved a few things around and added her own personal items here and there, but most of it was off-whites and pale gold.

Steve’s living room was nice, the walls were a dark beige with soft looking black couches and a single armchair facing the wall of windows, but the armchair was positioned at a slight angle where whomever sat in it, would be in a position to see every exit in the room, with Steve’s shield propped up against the side.

A large bookcase ran along the interior wall, and as I briefly scanned over it, it had a large variety of books, some old and some fresh from the store.

Like Clint and Natasha, Steve had a desk, looking out at the city, it had a simple laptop and a stack of S.H.I.E.L.D. files neatly piled in a corner.

As I stepped further into the room I noticed some of the shelves and table tops had framed pieces of artwork on them. Most of them were of people, people I’d seen old black and white photos of in history books and museums, but these pictures were carefully drawn and most were coloured. A framed drawing of Bucky Barnes sat on the table, his dark brown hair looked as if he’d just ran his hand through it and there was a bright grin on his face that made his blue eyes shine.

The artist had taken time and careful precision in their work, the amount of detail was amazing and had I looked at it from across the room, I would have been sure it was a photograph.

My eyes drifted over to the other portraits. Peggy Carter, her hair in curls around her collar with a bright red lipstick that shone. Howard Stark, Tony’s father, with a familiar cocky smirk under his moustache.

The Howling Commandos: Dum Dum Dugan with a dark green bowler hat, James Falsworth with a red beret, Gabe Jones with bright eyes and a smirk, Jacques Dernier looked older than the others, grey hair mixed in with his brown beard, Jim Mortia had a bright grin on his face, his cap sideways as if someone had just reached out and knocked it to the side.

These war hero’s that inspired people, generation after generation of children looked up to these soldiers and here they were on paper, looking just like any other person.

I jumped slightly at the sound of the door closing and spun round to see Steve had changed into a pair of jeans and a blue shirt.

“Can you do me a favour?” I asked as we stepped out of his apartment and into the corridor, walking towards the stairs.

“That depends,” he said, holding the door to the stair well open for me to step through first.

“Can you – can you please not tell Clint, Nat or Jane about last night?” I asked softly. “With Tony… Missing, they keep looking at me like I’m gonna break again. It’s just – They’re worrying for nothing,”

Steve seemed to hesitate before answering.

“Okay,” he said after a minute. “I won’t outright tell them. But Darce, there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. We’re all here for you,” he said. _Until you get tired of me._ I thought cynically.

But I smiled at him as I stepped through the door to the common room. “Thanks Steve,”

.

We walked straight round to the dining room where we were met with multiple grim looks.

“Sit-rep,” Steve ordered in his Captain America voice.

“Pepper’s missing,” Natasha said grimly and my heart sank, “She never checked in this morning. Nobody can get hold of her. She was seen on this surveillance camera with Maya Hansen going into a hotel,” Natasha bought up a holographic image of a slightly battered Pepper walk into a hotel room with a brunette. “The picture goes grainy a half hour later,” she fast forwarded to show just a screen full of snow. “And then we see Hansen leave looking like she’s arguing with someone off camera,” We watched as someone grabbed her arm and yanked her off screen. “They managed to avoid every other camera. They must have gone out of a fire escape. Nobody saw Pepper leave the building,”

Steve ran a hand through his hair wearily.

“I need to make a call,” he said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and walking over to the bar.

I let out a long sigh, leaning against the counter for a minute, my head in my hands.

I jumped slightly at a hand on my back.

 _Sorry._ Clint signed as I looked up and I just shook my head. _Do you want to talk about it?_ He asked.

‘ _What’s there to talk about? There’s nothing you can do.’_ I replied, my hands moving swiftly through the air.

‘ _S.H.I.E.L.D. has intel that suggests that Tony might still be alive.’_ My eyes widened as I stood up properly.

‘ _Are you serious?’_ I asked.

‘ _It’s not definite,’_ He said. _‘But there was a report that something fell out of the sky in Tennessee a few days ago, witness reports suggest it might have been a suit. Several hours later there was an explosion similar to the one at the Chinese theatre.’_ He explained and I smiled.

‘ _Only Tony could arrive in a town and then blow it up in a day.’_ I said and he snorted.

“Damn straight,” he said aloud and I laughed slightly.

“What can we do?” I asked, taking the cup of coffee he offered with a smile of thanks.

Clint glanced over at Steve who seemed to be having a very heated phone conversation across the room.

“We wait,” he said.

.

The morning passed painfully slowly, I curled into the corner of the conversation pit, with my StarkPad, scrolling through social media accounts, searching for something, _anything_ of Tony or Pepper.

There was nothing but panic and speculation.

Questions ranging from:

_If Stark is dead why has Pepper Potts or anyone at Stark Industries or the Avengers Tower not made a statement to confirm this?_

to

_How much was Starks house in Malibu worth before it fell off a cliff?_

I gave an aggravated sigh and carried on scrolling, a lot of people were demanding a statement from either S.H.I.E.L.D. or Stark Industries, and some people were wanting an inside view of what was happening inside the tower.

“Anything new?” Jane asked dropping down next to me. Neither her or Bruce had been back to the labs since Tony has gone missing.

“No,” I sighed, tossing the tablet to the side. “Everyone’s just demanding a statement from Pepper or S.H.I.E.L.D. neither of which are in a position to give a statement,” I said, my eyes drifting back up to the TV which was currently re-playing clips of Tony.

His “I am Iron Man” speech.

Handing over CEO to Pepper.

First Press Conference with the Avengers.

Maria Stark Foundation balls.

To his house sliding off of a cliff face, crashing into the ocean.

“Why don’t you do it?” Jane asked, and I looked up at her in confusion.

“Do what?”

“Release a statement,” she clarified and I laughed slightly.

“That’s not a bad idea,” Natasha said from her place on the piano stool, a file in her hands. “It’ll lower the panic level, and keep the media away for a while, you should do it,”

“Me? I’m not qualified!” I said, looking over at her as if she’d just grown a second head.

“You have a major in Political Science and a minor in Digital and Social Media,” Natasha said. “You’re qualified,”

“I never graduated!” I protested. “And please, stay out of my file,”

Tasha gave a slight shrug. “You had enough credits, you just never handed in your paperwork. You’re qualified enough to release a statement,”

I sighed. “Okay. Fine,” I said. “I’ll write up a draft,”

I grabbed my tablet back up. _Here goes nothing!_

.

I got halfway through writing a draft that I was kind of happy with, when the alarm rang out.

The ‘Assemble’ alarm blarred through the tower.

Steve, Tasha, Clint and Bruce all stood, moving to the dining table where a hologram appeared. Jane and I trailed slightly behind them.

“Jarvis? Sit-rep?” Cap said, his eyes narrowing at the live feed of Air Force One.

“ _Reports are coming from Air Force One that the Iron Patriot is attacking personnel on board,”_ Jarvis said.

“Is it Rhodes?” Clint asked.

“ _Negative. The readings coming from the suit are not matching to Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes’ vital signs. Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes has not contacted anybody since his mission in Afghanistan yesterday,”_

“Happy’s in hospital, Pepper’s missing and now Rhodey,” Natasha said. “This isn’t a coincidence. The Mandarin is targeting people close to Tony,”

“They could have just wanted the armour,” Clint said, Tasha pulled a doubtful face.

“Jarvis, was the President on board?” Steve asked.

“ _I have conformation that President Ellis is still on the plane,”_ Jarvis said. Tasha said something angrily in a language I couldn’t understand.

We watched as someone flew out of the plane.

“ _The Iron Patriot suit has left the plane,”_ Jarvis said.

Something else shot across the picture, too fast for the satellite to focus on it.

I bit my lip while we watched helplessly as something blew a hole in the side of the plane, sending people flying down towards the ocean.

“A drop like that, at that speed, they won’t survive,” Clint said quietly.

Something flew out of the side of the plane, a streak of red and gold as Air Force One exploded.

“Was that –?” I broke off with a slight laugh as the Iron Man suit caught a passenger.

The person he was holding reached out grabbing another, and another. One by one the thirteen people came together, Iron Man hovered over the water before dropping them gently into the water.

Tasha zoomed the satellite in to see all thirteen people safely in the water, cheering up at the familiar Hot Rod red suit.

“Jarvis, confirmation on who’s flying the suit?” she asked.

“ _I can confirm that Sir is in complete control of the suit,”_ Jarvis said.

I laughed grinned, watching as he waved to the people before flying backwards, a truck hitting into the suit, splitting the empty shell across the highway.

“Jarvis?” Steve asked, his voice quiet.

“ _I can confirm Sir was controlling the suit remotely. He was never actually on Air Force One,”_ Jarvis said and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Jarivs, can you track the Iron Patriot suit?” Steve asked.

“ _Indeed. It may take a while,” he_ said.

“Okay, send the location down to the Situation Room,” Steve said, he turned to me. “That statement would be better sooner rather than later,” he said.

I nodded. “On it,” I turned back to my tablet, my fingers flying over the screen as I followed them into the elevator, not paying attention as the doors closed and thirty seconds later we stepped out onto the Situation floor.

I briefly glanced up, this was one of the few floors I hadn’t been on.

We walked past a locker room, a large conference room, what looked like a TV studio and we turned into a large situation room. The windows were filled with holograms on the current situation with several computers in front.

A large conference table sat behind the computers and I slid into a chair, propping my StarkPad in front of me to read over my work.

_12-24-2016 – 19:56_

_In light of recent events a lot of speculation has been thrown around regarding the televised attack on Tony Starks Malibu mansion yesterday. After a thorough search of the wreckage which Miss Potts walked away from, no trace of a body was found._

_Following the events in Malibu an Iron Man suit was seen rescuing all personnel from the aircraft. We have confirmation that Tony Stark was controlling the suit and is in fact alive. We can also confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes was not the one in the Iron Patriot armour when it attacked Air Force One, his current location is unknown, although we do have every reason to believe that he is with Stark._

_In regards to the Avengers Tower which is still in total lockdown for the safety of the Civilians living there, I can confirm that the rest of The Avengers are currently aiding all Agencies in finding the President and returning him home safely for Christmas._

I slid the tablet over to Natasha who scanned through it and gave a satisfied nod.

“This is good,” she said and I looked down as heat rose to my cheeks. “Post it on Facebook, the media will take it from there. Don’t add your name or anything,” she said, sliding the tablet back across to me.

I nodded. Jarvis gave me access to the official facebook page and I posted the statement, glad to finally be doing _something._

**Chapter Fifteen  
**

Several hours past and I watched the team move around, working in sync as they searched everything and anything for even the slightest trace of the President.

“Got something,” Natasha said, flicking a satellite image onto the big screen, the image showed several dozen Iron Man suits speeding across the country.

“How many are there?” Steve asked as everyone stared at the feed in shock.

“ _Forty. The suit at Air Force One was the Forty First,”_ Jarvis said. _“Sir has made four new suits since he arrived in Malibu,”_

“Fucking hell,” Clint muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“How many has he made since New York?” Natasha asked, her voice surprisingly gentle.

“ _36,”_ Jarvis said. _“37 if you include the Iron Patriot armour Sir made for Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes,”_

“Holy shit,” I breathed. In eight months he’d built _37_ new suits, each of them being better than the last. Plus he made my leg… “Has Tony actually left his lab since New York?” I asked. “I mean has he left the tower? Done anything with anybody outside of team nights?” Everyone stared at me blankly.

“After the clear up was finished, he just threw money at all the repairs. He never went to oversee them like everyone else did,” Bruce said quietly.

“Jarvis, have there been any particular incidents where Tony’s acted weird since New York?” I asked.

“ _My records show that Sir has had remarkable trouble sleeping in the past few months. He had an incident last week, my sensors suggested he had a severe anxiety attack,”_ Jarvis said, his voice sounded regretful.

“Jarvis, do you know where the suits are going?” Steve asked, drawing the conversation back to the topic at hand.

Jarvis zoomed in on a ship off the coast of Florida.

We watched the satellite footage closely.

Watching as the suits surrounded the ship.

It was hard to keep up with what was happening, smoke clouded the images as the repolsor beams hit oil tanks causing them to blow up.

“Jarvis can you put us through to Stark?” Steve asked.

“ _Negative. Sir seems to have lost his earpiece,”_ Jarvis said.

The fight seemed to break up, the suits were circling the ship, searching for any survivors.

They stilled in midair before one by one they blew up, sending sparks and pieces of metal everywhere, they looked like fireworks around the ship.

“Jarvis?” Steve asked, alarm evident in his voice.

“ _Sir has activated the ‘Blank Slate’ protocol, triggering the termination of all Iron Man suits,”_ Jarvis said, a hint of relief lacing his calm voice.

“Tell him he’s a fucking idiot,” I said, though I couldn’t help but smile in relief.

“ _Aw, c’mon Lewis! Just admit it, you missed me really!”_ Tony’s voice rang through the room.

“Yeah, you said you were working on something for my leg. You don’t get to die until I know what it is!” I replied.

“Stark, sit-rep?” Cap cut in. Tony gave a weary sigh.

“ _The presidents secure. Rhodey has him and his armour back. Pepper killed Killian. She’s good too,”_ Tony said, everyone gave a consecutive sigh of relief.

“Pepper’s okay?” Natasha asked.

“ _She’s running a little hot. Bruce, buddy, you there?” he_ asked.

“What’s wrong?” Bruce asked, noting the anxiety in Tony’s voice.

“ _Jarvis is going to send you everything we know about the Extremis virus, you need to make an antidote or something to stabilize is as soon as possible,”_ Tony said.

Bruce was already reaching for a StarkPad, scrolling through the data.

Muttering under his breath.

“Pepper’s been injected with this?” he asked, an unusual dark look in his eyes.

“ _Yeah,”_

“I’m on it. Let me know when your due back. I’ll need to run my own tests,” Bruce said, a slight green tinge across his face, his fists clenched. “Excuse me,” he said suddenly, walking briskly from the room.

“ _What was that?”_ Tony asked.

“ _Doctor Banner has just secured himself in his safe room,”_ Jarvis said.

“ _Huh,”_ Tony was silent for a second. _“So, we need an extraction and Rhodey says you’ll be here quickest,”_

Steve glanced over at Clint who was studying the map.

“We can be there in half an hour,” he confirmed.

“Does this mean I can lift the lockdown now?” I asked.

Steve glanced up at the screen for a second before nodding down at me.

“Yeah, threats been neutralized,” he said.

Letting out a breath of relief I brushed past the three Avengers, leaning over the keyboard that Jarvis supplied.

I zoned out of Tony and Steve cutting the call as I let my fingers fly across the keys.

_589-621-65_

I hit enter on the authorization key, watching as the lights flashed before brightening back to normal.

“ _Lockdown lifted,”_ Jarvis said smoothly as the doors unlocked. _“Normal protocols have been resumed,”_

Several phones chimed through the room, catching up on several days’ worth of blocked messages and emails.

“Suit up,” Steve said to Clint and Nat. “We don’t know who’s gonna be in Florida,” he said, getting two sharp nods in return.

“Wheels up in five!” Clint called out as he followed Nat out of the room.

Jane and I headed back up to the common room watching as Steve, Clint and Nat boarded the quinjet.

Jarvis informed us that the Hulk was Bruce again and Betty had arrived and gone straight up to the labs.

I sat at the piano, absently playing random little melodies whilst keeping an eye on the hologram that was scrolling through social media and my emails, looking for anything relating to Florida, Tony, The Avengers or the President.

“ _Doctor Foster, Miss Lewis, the Avengers are 2 minutes out,”_ Jarvis announced, my head shot up as I moved over to the door. Vaugley aware that Jane had come to stand next to me.

We watched as the quinjet turned, touching down on the landing pad.

The ramp dropped down and we watched as Pepper appeared first, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders probably more for decency as she semmed to be dressed in just a sports bra and shorts.

Tony had hold of her hand, as they walked down the ramp, flanked by and Steve. Clint and Tasha trailing behind them.

The door opened and Pepper and Tony stepped inside, I bit my lip, resisting the urge to hug them.

Tony looked a little banged up, a cut on his forehead and he was covered in ash but seemed to be okay.

Pepper, Pepper looked pretty good. Her hair was a little messy and she too was covered in soot, but she seemed unharmed, not a mark on her other than a strange red glow on parts of her skin.

“I’m glad you’re both okay,” I said, with a small smile.

“Aw, I knew you missed me really,” Tony said as both Pepper and I rolled our eyes.

“I read your statement,” Pepper said. My eyes widened. _Was I out of line to post it? Should I have left it alone?_ “It was really good Darcy. Thank you,” she said with a warm smile, the hint of something that looked like pride in her eyes.

Heat rose to my cheeks as I looked down.

“It really wasn’t that good. Tasha said it would help people calm down so I –,” I said.

“Darcy,” Pepper cut my rambling off gently. “Thank you,” she stressed.

I smiled softly.

“You’re welcome,” I replied

“ _Sir, Doctor’s Banner and Ross are requesting both yours and Miss Potts’ presence in the lab,”_ Jarvis announced.

A look of worry crossed Pepper’s face as Tony gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Science is calling!” He said, tugging Pepper towards the elevator. “By the way, we’ve ordered some food, Rhodey said we’ve missed Christmas dinner and that nobody got to have it, so he’s gonna be here later for that. Apparently it’s important,” he called over his shoulder with a vague wave of his hand.

With that they stepped into the elevator and seconds after the doors slid close ACDC blared through the towers speakers.

“Yup,” I said, looking between everyone’s exasperated expressions. “Tony’s back,”

**Chapter Sixteen  
**

Several hours later between Clint, Tasha and I we had assembled something that looked relatively like Christmas dinner for 10 people, including a Super soldier and the Hulk.

Rhodey had arrived in time to help Steve set the table as Jane drew our names out on little pieces of card, indicating the seating arrangement. Apparently Maria would drop by later but she couldn’t make dinner for some reason.

While food was cooking everyone took turns to go back to their apartments and shower.

I took a quick shower, drying and curling my hair, letting it hang in loose ringlets around my shoulders. I pulled on a dark red dress with gold detailing around the neck. It hung just above my knees and I slid on a pair of black flats.

Standing in front of the mirror I let my fingers drift over Jakes dog tags.

“Chag sameach, big bro,” _Happy Holidays._ I muttered with a soft smile before dropping the dog tags under my dress and reaching for my lipstick.

.

I stepped back into the common room, walking straight through to the kitchen where Tasha was sitting on the counter next to the stove, a hand running absently through Clint’s hair as he leant against her legs whilst stirring a pan full of vegetables.

Pepper was sitting at the breakfast bar, she’d changed into a pair of black denim shorts and a white blouse, there was still a faint blush across her cheeks but other than that she looked okay. She was furiously typing on a sleek white Stark Laptop a look of concentration on her face.

Tony stood next to her, talking about something or other, waving his hands around as he spoke.

Steve and Rhodey, like Pepper, were sitting on stools while Jane was perched on the edge of the breakfast bar, swinging her legs as she listened to Tony.

“Done,” Pepper said, cutting through Tony’s explanation of… Whatever he was explaining. “Everything’s booked for New Year’s eve,”

Tony smiled.

“The Maria Stark Foundation is having a ball at New Year,” he said. “You are all invited,” As if on cue mine, and everyone else’s phones chimed.

“Thank you,” Jane said. “But I’ve got a flight booked for London on the 29th and I won’t be back til the 2nd,”

“What’s in London?” Tony asked. Pepper rolled her eyes at his bluntness.

“My mom lives there,” Jane said but didn’t elaborate. Pepper smiled at her.

“Stark Industries is going to use the occasion to announce the start of its research on robot prosthetics,” she explained. “It’s also good for everybody,” she glanced at Tony.

_With everything that had happened in the past year, a Stark social event would help settle everything down. Assure everyone that things were going back to normal._

The glass panel above the cooker beeped, a light flashing red.

Clint turned the stove off as Tasha hopped off the counter, pulling the oven door open, effectively silencing the timer.

“Okay, foods ready, - Here Jane can you take this, thanks – Go sit down,” Clint said, as he handed Jane a dish of vegetables.

I took my allocated space at the end of the table, between Steve and Clint, watching as the latter carried the turkey on a silver tray, he hesitated, as if unsure on where to set it, he looked up at Tony.

“Give it to Capsicle,” Tony said sitting the opposite end of the table to Steve.

Steve carved the turkey and food was dished out.

“So,” Natasha said turning pointedly to Tony, Pepper and Rhodey. “You threatened a terrorist, your house fell off of a cliff, then disappeared for nearly forty eight hours, then reappeared in time to blow up Air Force One. All in the space of five days. How?” she asked, disbelief clear in her voice.

“C’mon, like you haven’t done worse,” Tony said and Natasha paused, looking at Clint.

“Don’t even think about mentioning it,” she said, a deadly hint to her voice, Clint merely smiled, holding his hands up in defence. She turned back to Tony. “This isn’t about me though,” .

Tony sighed.

“Well…” As we ate, we listened as he explained what happened with Aldrich Killian and how he created and used the Extremis virus. Then how he created the Mandarin, who was actually a drunk actor from England. Rhodey filled everyone in on losing the Iron Patriot suit, to saving the President.

Tony finished the story by giving a very long description of how Pepper saved his life and took out Killian. “It was really her. I’m not taking the credit for her saving everybody,” he concluded casually as Pepper rolled her eyes.

I gave a low whistle.

“Whoever said Christmas was boring,”

.

Everyone helped clear up after dinner, and everyone moved to the couches by the window that were around the Christmas tree.

I dropped down onto a leather couch next to Steve.

“I think I’ve eaten more than I normally do in a week,” I complained, a hand resting on my stomach.

Don’t get me wrong, food is my best friend, but four portions of Christmas dinner… Maybe not.

The elevator flashed and Maria stepped out. Dressed in a nice red shirt and black jeans and heels. Her hair out of its usual bun, hung in light curls around her shoulders.

She marched across the room, glaring at Tony.

“The amount of paperwork _I_ have to do because you went off the radar and ‘died’ is ridiculous. If you ever do that again, I will kill you,” she threatened. Tony’s eyes widened and he nodded. Maria’s glare disappeared as she turned to smile at everyone. “Happy Christmas,” she said, dropping down on the other side of Pepper.

Presents were passed out between everyone and I swear I’ve seen five year olds make less mess, as paper was thrown everywhere and at everyone and it ended with everyone having a neat pile of presents next to them.

All that was left was nine sleek black, unwrapped boxes left under the tree, which Tony knelt next to and proceeded to hand around.

Although all of the boxes were blank, he seemed to know exactly which one was for whom.

He handed me an A4 sized box before sitting back down.

“Open them one at a time. Lewis first,” he said waving his hand impatiently at me.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I pulled the lid off and looked down at the contents.

Laying in the foam was a long thin piece of metal, it looked the same as the metal on my leg.

I looked up at him in confusion.

“It’s for your leg,” he said making grabby hands for the box, he sat on the arm of my chair, snatching the box out of my hands. He carefully lifted the device out, setting the box aside.

He laid the device vertically down my leg, the top part, ran over the converter and rested lightly against my skin, it stuck to my leg like a magnet, but I couldn’t feel it like a normal magnet. In fact, as the plates in my leg recalibrated, I couldn’t feel it at all.

Tony reached down, tapping the end on the converter and I gasped, watching as my leg recalibrated again, as the plates changed colour one by one.

They went from shining silver to fading back into my normal skin colour.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I looked down at my legs, side by side the only difference was a slight shine across my foot.

“Holy shit,” I heard Clint mutter, but paid little attention as I looked up at Tony.

“It’s only a prototype, so you can only wear it for eight hours max, but it’ll change with your skin tone, so if you tan or whatever –,”

I cut him off as I through my arms around his neck. He jolted in surprise slightly, before awkwardly patting me on the back.

“Thank you,” I said. _Thank you for making me look normal!_

“No problem, kid,” he said as I pulled away, looking back down at my leg in awe, running my fingers over my knee.

It still felt like metal, I could feel the ridge of each hexagonal plate, but it _looked_ normal. I could go out in summer, wearing shorts or a dress and people wouldn’t stare. I could avoid the looks of sympathy and pity in the streets.

Tony moved back to his seat and turned their attention to Steve, who knelt on the floor next to a larger, square box.

He pulled the lid off to reveal his shield. He hesitated as his fingers brushed over the star.

“This isn’t mine,” he said, carefully lifting it from the box. Inspecting the back, where it normally had straps or a handle it had a stip of black metal.

“Nope. It’s new,” Tony confirmed. “It’s got an electromagnet on the back, another one on your suit, so when you do your Frisbee thing you won’t have to run after it, it will come back to you,” he explained.

“Like Thor and Mew-mew?!” I exclaimed.

“ _Mjölnir_ Darcy. It’s pronounced Mjölnir,” Jane said.

“Tom _-ay-_ to, Tom- _ah-_ to,” I said, waving my hand in indifference. She rolled her eyes as Tony snorted.

“Something like that,” he said.

“Thanks Tony,” Steve said, running his hand over the face of the shield again. “This is really great,” Something flickered across Tony’s face but he covered it up with a small smile and a nod.

Clint picked up a small black box, pulling the lid off, looking down at whatever was inside in surprise.

“How did you know?” he asked, looking at Tony then suspiciously between Natasha and I. “Did either of you –?”

I looked over at Tasha who looked just as confused as I did.

She leant over Clint’s shoulder looking down at whatever was the box, she smiled softly at whatever it was.

“Neither of them told me,” Tony said. “Is that the redacted part of your file?” he asked.

“Part of it,” Clint shrugged, still looking at him in confusion. “How did you know?” he asked again.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I leant over Steve to see, two thin hearing aids.

“Oh,” I breathed softly, dropping back down in my seat. That was one of Clint’s biggest secrets, his hair was short, but just long enough to cover the top of his hearing aids. In a loud room he took extra time to focus on people’s lips, just to be sure he didn’t miss anything.

When around the elevator he always made sure he could see the light flash so nobody surprised him.

Tony just shrugged.

“If you put them in, Jarvis can calibrate them. They use mini arc reactors giving them endless power and they have the same sensors as Darcy’s leg, making them invisible,” he explained. “They also have a built in comm system, so you don’t have to switch them for missions,”

Clint pulled out his current hearing aids, taking extra care as he slid the new ones in. From here I could see a blue light flash in his ear before the whole thing disappeared.

He jumped slightly, and winced.

“The left ones louder,” he said, his voice quieter than usual. Jarvis must have done something because he smiled. “Thanks Jarvis,”

Clint put his old hearing aids in the box, pressing the lid closed before looking up at the genius.

“Thanks, man, seriously,”

Tony nodded, before turning to Natasha.

“Natashalie?” he prompted nodding to the box.

She rolled her eyes at the stupid name, but complied.

Inside lay three gold different finger bracelets.

The first had a simple, thick gold bracelet with a black hourglass connecting the chain and two rings.

The second was a very thin chain, it had two bracelets connected by a gold Black Widow, a small hourglass engraved on it’s back, like the other bracelet the rings had a flat plate that would sit across the top of her fingers.

The third was the most different. It had three rings that had small studs on top, before dropping down onto the chains, linked to a simple chain bracelet by another small stud.

Like everyone else Natasha looked up at Tony in confusion.

“You can’t wear your Widow Bites with casual clothes, without it looking obvious. These each have three settings: one is like a sharp electric shock, the second is an EMP and the third is double an EMP. They’re designed so you won’t feel anything, but the other person will,” he explained quickly.

Natasha ran her fingers over the gold chain with a soft smile.

“Thanks Tony,” she said, snapping the lid closed.

Bruce got a new pair of pants, which would still fit after a Hulk incident. Jane and Betty both got really technical lab equipment and I had no idea what it was or did, but they both seemed to love whatever it was. Rhodey got a new suit, and as it closed around him, you could see the words War Machine in white print on the blue arm. Rhodey just laughed, shaking his head as he thanked Tony. Pepper lifted the lid of her box to reveal a silver Iron Man faceplate, she looked over at Tony with a questioning look.

“It’s a suit,” he said, Pepper’s face fell slightly, causing Tony to look stricken. “Your suit. When the house… When you were in the suit, it didn’t work right because it was biometrically coded to me. This one. It going to be for you. So even with your extremis powers, you don’t have to use them. This will just get you out,” he looked up at her nervously.

Her face softened as she smiled. “I think that’s a great idea. Thank you, Tony,”

Tony sighed in relief.

The rest of the day passed in laughter and a surprising amount of fun.

As a joke present Clint had bought everyone varying models of Nerf guns, which he then proceeded to shoot everyone with.

Which in my opinion was totally unfair, because c’mon trained assassins (one of whom is the world’s greatest marksman) against an astrophysicist assistant, was totally not a fair fight!

Jarvis took a group photo of everyone, and another one without Maria in that could be made public (something to do with being Deputy Director of a secret organisation meant not posting pictures with Superheroes, whether they work for you or not).

“ _The picture without Agent Hill in has been posted to the Avengers Twitter and Facebook pages respectively,”_ Jarvis announced.

“What about Instagram?” I asked curiously.

“ _There is no official Avengers Instagram account,” he_ said. I frowned.

“It would be worth you all getting one. You wouldn’t even need to update it regularly. But it's good for the public image,” I commented. Pepper looked thoughtful before nodding.

“That’s a good idea. Jarvis, can you set up an Instagram account with the same settings as all other Avengers accounts please?” she requested.

“ _Certainly, Miss Potts. Would you like me to share this photo as the accounts first photo?”_ Jarvis asked.

“Please,” Pepper nodded.

We watched as the hologram showed the account being set up before posting the picture with the following caption:

_Happy Holidays from The Avengers Tower!_

And then a Christmas tree emoji.

I took a second to admire the picture. We were standing in front of the Christmas tree.

Tony, Pepper and Rhodey in the middle, smiling happily as if everything was fine.

Bruce stood next to them, his arm around Betty’s shoulder, both of them grinning happily.

Jane stood next to Betty, smiling in a way that was usually reserved just for Science.

Natasha and Clint were stood on their other side of the trio followed by Steve and I. Steve’s arm had been throw around my shoulders as I leant my head against his chest, laughing at something.

Staring at that picture I decided that it didn’t matter that I didn’t celebrate Christmas for religious reasons. From now on I would celebrate Christmas for this, for Family.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Seventeen  
**

The next morning I walked into the common room and stopped short at the sight of Steve, Natasha and Bruce glaring at the ceiling.

“He can’t just wake up one day and decide to have open heart surgery. It doesn’t work like that!” Bruce exclaimed.

“ _Sir has hired the services of the best surgeon in the country,”_ Jarvis said.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

“What is happening?” I asked Clint who was perched on the kitchen counter, a scowl on his own face.

“Stark, Pepper and Rhodes flew to California in the early hours of the morning so Stark could have the shrapnel and Arc Reactor removed from his chest,” he said and my eyes widened in alarm.

“Jesús follando cristo! ¿Está realmente en serio?” I blurted out. _Jesus fucking Christ! Are you actually serious?_

Natasha thrust her hand in my direction. “See, that is a normal reaction to this situation!” She exclaimed.

Steve paused. “I don’t actually know what she just said,” he said. Tasha rolled her eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. The point is he can’t just have heart surgery and not tell anybody!” She said.

“ _Miss Potts has informed me that Sir is out of surgery and is expected to wake up soon. It appears to have gone well,” Jarvis said. “His doctors have said if he spends the day in recovery without a problem, he should be able to be discharged tomorrow”_

Steve sighed as Bruce ran a hand over his face.

Tasha on the other hand muttered something in a language I didn’t understand before storming towards the elevator.

“I’ll be in the gym,” she yelled out, just before the doors slid closed.

Clint let out a long breath before hopping off of the counter.

“I should go and make sure she isn’t rigging something to kill Stark when he comes home,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he walked to the stairwell. “If you don’t hear anything in three hours, come and collect my body,”

I snorted, watching as the door closed.

“I’m – I’m going to join Betty and Jane in the labs,” Bruce said following Clint’s path to the stairwell.

I stared at the door for a minute before mentally shaking myself.

“I need coffee,” I said, turning to the coffee machine, where thankfully a jug sat ready. “Wanna cup?” I asked glancing up at Steve as I poured my own.

“Er, yeah, please,” he said, leaning his elbows on the Island as he ran a hand wearily through his hair.

I smiled sympathetically as I slid a mug of coffee towards him. He gave a small smile in thanks, adding cream as I added the usual seven sugars to my own.

“So, I was thinking, about this ball for New Year,” Steve straightened up, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. I raised an eyebrow. _Is he – Was he nervous?_ “I was wondering, what with Jane not going to be here. I really like you and was wondering if you’d go with me?”

My eyes widened in surprise as it took me several seconds to process what he’d said.

“Oh,”

Steve must have taken my surprise as something negative because he quickly backtracked.

“If you don’t want to that’s fine, I just –,”

“Hey, Steve!” I cut off his ramblings. He broke off, looking at me in shock. I smiled softly. “I’d love to go with you,” I said, reaching up on tip toes I wrapped my arms around his neck, netting my lips brush over his cheek before pulling away.

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he grinned.

“Now if you’ll excuse me I need to go and get Jane to eat actual food and shower before she goes to see her mom,” I said, grabbing my coffee. I shot him one last smile over my shoulder before pushing the door to the stairwell open.

I let it swing shut behind me and leant back against it for a second, clutching my coffee cup tightly, not caring that it was burning my hand.

_He asked me to go with him to the – but he was – Steve actually –_

I practically ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, careful not to spill my coffee as I slammed the door open to the labs.

“I think Captain America just asked me on a date,” The words left my mouth before I could stop them and louder than I intended.

So getting not just Janes attention but Bruce, Betty and several lab assistants staring at me in shock.

“Well it’s about bloody time,” Jane said breaking the silence before turning back to the machine as if I hadn’t said anything.

I gaped at her for a second, scrunching my face up in confusion before continuing forward.

“What do you mean ‘it’s about bloody time’?” I asked, putting my coffee on her desk as I stopped in front of her.

“You’ve been pining over each other for months,” she said bluntly, nudging me to the side to move to another machine.

I stared at her for a second before following.

“I have not been pining over anybody and Steve certainly hasn’t been pining over me. He’s Captain _freaking_ America he’s probably only asking me out because everyone else is going in couples, he probably just doesn’t want to go on his own, he just feel sorry for me. Maybe I shouldn’t go –” I rambled, only stopping as Jane flicked my forehead. “Ow!”

“Darcy, I know you won’t believe me when I tell you this now, and that’s okay. But listen to me, okay? Steve cares about you, he really does like you and he respects you greatly. He would never ask you out just because he feels sorry for you, and I can guarantee he’d rather go with you than anybody else in the world right now.   
“And if you _really_ don’t want to go with him, for your own reasons, not because you’re worried what he thinks. Then I promise you he will respect you enough to accept that and move on,” she spoke softly, but a hard determination in her voice that never wavered. She brushed a piece of hair behind my ear. “He’s not going to hurt you like _that_ Darcy, I swear to you,” she breathed softly, tears burned my eyes as I tried to blink them away. “And if he ever does anything to make you uncomfortable, just remember that there’s an entire tower of people who will kick his ass for you,”

She gave a reassuring smile before pulling me tightly into her arms, her hand on the back of my head as I let myself shrink into her tiny frame.

After several minutes I managed to compose myself and step back with a slightly forced smile.

“Thanks Janey,” I said. “I’m gonna go get some air,”

With one last smile I turned and walked back to the stair well.

As I walked mechanically down the stairs something rang through my brain on repeat.

“… _I really like you…”_

“… _He really does like you…”_

I carried on walking aimlessly down the stiars, thinking about my relationship with Steve.

_Since I’d moved into the tower he’d been there, while I was waiting for my leg to be built he’d been there with me, both in the hospital and while I was “resting”. After I got my leg he’d patiently helped me with physio. Then there was Jake’s death._

_After Jake died I kind of just broke, some days I did nothing and some days I wanted to do everything, though mostly it was the first._

_Steve had spent almost every day with me._

_He’d had an endless amount of patience as I pushed myself to far in the gym, he held me as I sobbed and screamed for my brother, he’d make me eat, get me to watch a movie, tell me stories about Bucky and before the war, and then he made me leave the tower to go ice skating._

_I was broken and he helped me put the first few pieces back._

_Then when Tony had gone missing, he’d taken me to his apartment because I didn’t want to be alone. He’d held me as I woke up screaming at three in the morning. He stayed with me the rest of the night, just providing comfort and not asking anything in return._

_I’d spent the last seven months seeing him almost every day, and now I couldn’t what I’d do without him._

I stopped dead, my eyes widening with realisation.

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed, panic building in my chest before sprinting down the last four flights of stairs to the gym.

_Shit!_

_-_

I ran through the doors to the gym, only half noticing Tasha and Clint sparring, I moved straight to the range, the doors opening automatically and I moved to a shelf.

I methodically moved through the motions of grabbing a Glock 19, I checked everything, shoving a pair of ear protectors on my head, and grabbing a pair of targets.

I forced myself to take a breath before I fired.

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

_Bang._

I went through all fifteen rounds before reaching for a second magazine.

I jumped at a hand on my wrist, my head whipped round to meet Natasha’s steely gaze.

I dropped the gun on the table as she pulled my headset off.

“What is going on?” she asked, her voice hard. Making it clear she was well aware of the several rules regarding the towers range that I’d just broke

I opened my mouth to answer but struggled to find the right words. I shook my head, I reached back for the gun but Natasha pulled my hand away, spinning me around to face her.

“Darcy, you’re angry and scared right now. I’m not letting you pick that gun back up until you tell me what’s happened,” she said, after several seconds without my reply, she tugged of my glasses, tossing them on another table, as her grip on my wrist slackened as she gripped my shoulder, leading me out of the range, I was half aware of her muttering something as I slid down the wall.

Tasha’s face levelled in front of me.

“малютка you need to focus. I want you to count for me okay. In Russian, one to ten. Then Spanish. Then German,” she said. “Say it after me okay?”

“Один,” she started. _One._

“О – один,” I stuttered, struggling to take a breath.

“Два,” _Two_ _._

“Два”

“Три,” _Three_ _._

“Три,”

“Четыре,” _Four_ _._

“Четыре,”

“Пять,” _Five_ _._

“Пять,”

“Шесть,” _Six_ _._

“Шесть,” 

“Семь,” _Seven_ _._

“Семь,”

“Восемь,” _Eight_ _._

“Восемь,” 

“Девять,” _Nine_ _._

“Девять,” 

“Десять,” _Ten_ _._

“Десять,”

“Good, Малютка. Now Spanish. Do this on your own, you know this. Contar, Darcy,” her voice had lost the hard edge, as she let me clutch her hands. _Count._

“U – uno, D – dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez,” As I focused on each number, I hardly noticed as I started breathing relatively normal again and I could focus on Nat properly again.

“That’s really good Darcy. Now German,”

My mind reeled for the right number in the right language.

“Eins… Z – zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, nein, zehn,” Half way through I seemed to stop struggling, finishing the last four numbers more confidently.

I sat up straighter, trying to get my bearings, taking another deep breath. I was sitting below the window outside the range, Natasha was crouched in front of me, and my hands clutched hers tightly.

“You back with me?” she asked and I nodded, getting a soft smile in return. “You wanna tell me what happened?”

“Steve, I – er – he er –,” I stuggled to find the right words, I ran a hand through my hair, tugging it slightly.

Natasha took my hand back.

“Darcy, did he hurt you?” she asked, I heard something shift above us and I glanced up at the open vent, knowing Clint was eavesdropping.

My eyes widened.

“No, no. It’s nothing like that,” I assured them quickly. “He er – he asked me to go to the New Year’s Ball with him,” I blurted out quickly. “And I agreed.”

“I’m not seeing the problem,” she said, the hint of a smile on her lips.

“Because I actually like him!” I exclaimed in panic. Natasha’s eyes widened slightly in realisation.

“Oh,” she breathed. “When was the last time you were in a proper relationship?” she asked. “Casual sex doesn’t count,”

I paused, running a list of faces through my head.

_The blonde girl in New Mexico._

_The mechanic in New Mexico._

_The Norwegian women after New York._

_The mechanic in New Mexico._

_That guy at Culver._

_The other guy at Culver._

_What was her name? Tina? Tracey?_

“My second year at college. I dated a girl for a few months before she moved,” I said.

“What about before that? High School?” she asked and I shook my head.

Natasha sighed, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Darcy, have you ever been in a relationship with a guy?” she asked, I hesitated before shaking my head.

“I’ve had sex with them, but mostly it was a onetime kinda thing,” I said. “I met them in a club or in a bar somewhere when I’d drunk too much to remember their names,” I said with a shrug. _God that made me sound like a slut._

Nat glanced up at the vent briefly with a puzzled look, as if she tried to remember that.

“You’ve never had sex with a guy sober?” she clarified and I shrugged. _No._

I glanced up at the vent at the sound of shuffling, watching as Clint flipped down from the vent, before walking over to join us on the floor, for once he had a serious look on his face.

“Darce, when I first met you in that bar. You were terrified of me or the barman trying to touch you. You flinched every time until you’d had a few drinks,” he said carefully, as if choosing his words very carefully. But I already knew where this was going. “You don’t date or sleep with guys because you don’t trust them. Because you think they’re going to hurt you again,”

My eyes fixed on the floor as I pulled my knees tighter to my chest, snatching my hands away from Natasha, I clenched my jaw. _I will not cry. I will not cry._

“Jarvis, where’s Steve?” Clint asked and my head shot up in alarm.

“ _Captain Rogers is currently in his apartment,”_ Jarvis said.

“We can sit here all day and tell you that your safe and that you can trust Steve, but at the end of the day that’s really not going to help,” Natasha said, laying a soft hand on my arm. “You need to talk to _him_ Darcy. If you like him then that’s fine, if you don’t then that’s also fine. But you have a really great friendship with Steve, and you trust him as your friend because he’s never hurt you or tried to take advantage of you. If you go on a date with him, how much do you think that’s really going to change?” she asked softly.

“Go talk to him Darce. We’re with you no matter what you decide,” Clint added, reaching out he squeezed my hand slightly.

.

I stood outside Steve’s door nervously tugging on my hair.

“Ah what the hell,” I muttered after nearly ten minutes. Reaching up to knock on the door.

Steve pulled it open, a look of surprise briefly crossing his face before he smiled, than frowned slightly as he took in the sight of me.

“Darcy, is everything okay?” he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

“Can – can I talk to you?” I asked, mentally cursing myself at how small my voice sounded.

“Of course. Come in,” he said, holding the door open wider.

I slid into his apartment and he led me over to the couch, where I sat on the edge anxiously.

“I know I said I’d go to the ball with you, and I still want to,” I started nervously. “But I need to tell you some things, and you might not want to go with me after you hear them,”

Steve sat down in the arm chair, worry evident on his face.

“Okay,”

I closed my eyes for a second, forcing myself to take a deep breath, mustering up all of the courage I had before I started talking.

Once I started talking I found I couldn’t stop. I told him everything, my toxic relationship with my dad, my testing one with my mom, how Jake and I never used to be close.

I told him about the man in the woods, who stole my innocence when I was just twelve years old.

I carried on, ignoring his look of anger.

I explained how I came out, and how my Nan had screamed at me in the middle of the mall.

I spoke about the nights I’d spent on the streets, because my mom was sick and at seventeen between my medical bills and hers, I couldn’t balance a check book and lost everything.

How it was nearly two months before Jake and Mike had found me in a shop doorway when the temperature was below freezing. How they’d come to look for me because my doctors and mom’s had told him how I’d been missing appointments, and medical bills were behind.

How they’d helped me get back on my feet, and apply to Culver on an early application.

I told him about my relationships with men and women, and a few that didn’t identify as either.

I told him how the only times I’d been intimate with a man I was drunk, because I didn’t trust myself enough not to freak out on them.

Then I finally rounded to the point.

“I’m scared Steve. Clint and Phil were the first men aside from Mike and Jake that I trusted. They earnt my trust, and I could trust them because I knew none of them were interested in me sexually. The same when I came here. Tony is in a serious relationship with Pepper. Bruce with Betty. Thor was only interested in Jane. But then there was you…

“I need you to understand Steve, that I do trust you. I trust you with my life and that fucking terrifies me. Because I want to go to the ball with you because I really like you and I know you would _never_ hurt me. I don’t know how to have a relationship like that. I don’t know what to do or what to say.

“You could go out with any girl in the world, but you asked me and I don’t understand why because I am broken and you deserve better,” I broke off with a sob, burying my head in my hands.

I flinched slightly at a familiar hand on my arm as the couch dipped. I felt Steve wrap his arms around me as I was pulled from the couch cushions onto his lap as I buried my face in his chest.

He held me as I cried, he didn’t shush me or lie and say I was going to be fine. He just held me until I was ready.

After however long my sobs turned into hiccups and I wanted to pull away, but I couldn’t bear to look at him.

“Darcy? Sweetheart, look at me,” he shifted slightly so I was forced to pull away from his chest as he rubbed my back. I rested my feet on his thigh, trying to curl in on myself, doing everything but look at him.

A warm hand cupped my cheek, tilting my head up to look at him, he brushed a piece of hair over my shoulder, before letting his hand rest against my cheek.

“Your turn to listen now Doll. No interrupting,” he said, his other hand still rubbing comforting circles in my back. “You have been through so much bad in your life and I know nothing I say or do can ever change that. I understand why you have trouble trusting people, especially men, and you need to know that those feelings are completely valid. So many people have hurt you, and you didn’t deserve that, you _don’t_ deserve that.

“That fear you feel, that doesn’t make you weak. You face your fears every day and that makes you stronger than most people.

“And I tell you what else? It’s okay to not know what you’re doing. You have to do what feels right for _you._

“You’re right, maybe I could have any other girl in the world. But maybe I don’t want any other girl. Maybe I just want you. Because you are _not_ broken, you’re hurt. There’s a difference.

“You’re so kind to everyone, you’ve spent hours helping Tony, you noticed he wasn’t okay before any of us did. You spent time with Natasha and Clint outside of a training room to remind them they’re more than just the weapon they fire. You make sure Jane eats and sleeps, you make sure she takes breaks and doesn’t overdo it. You make sure Bruce doesn’t lose himself in his work, but you make him feel human.

“And when _I_ first met you I was lost, I was struggling with finding my place in this time. There are days when I think everything we do is for nothing, but then you come in and you’re like a light at the end of a very long dark tunnel. You don’t let us get lost in the fight, or in the media frenzy.

“You’re smart and kind and so beautiful. And even after everything you’ve been through, you have every right to hate the world, but you don’t. You still care, I’ve never seen you turn your back on anyone that needs help, no matter what it costs you.

“You’re worth so much more than you think, and I will tell you that every day for as long as you need to hear it and I will be as patient as you need me to be. But I am never going to abandon you for something in your past that you have had no control over,” he finished, and I felt tears roll down my cheeks as I listened to the sincerity in his voice. “I’m willing to give this a go if you are?” he asked.

My eyes fixed on his cool blue ones, searching for any hint of a lie, but coming up with nothing.

“I’m gonna screw up,” I pointed out, as another couple of tears dripped down my cheek

“So am I,” he said, pulling me closer as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He held me tightly in his arms as exhaustion settled in, and the last though before I passed out was: _I can breathe again._

**Chapter Eighteen  
**

I ended up spending the rest of the day in Steve’s apartment, watching a variety of Disney movies (for some reason they’re banned from movie nights as per Natasha’s request, but nobody knew why).

We ordered Chinese for dinner and I laughed at the faces Steve would pull when he tried new foods.

We watched movies until nearly midnight and I was too tired to walk back up to my apartment so the last thing I remember is collapsing in Steve’s spare room.

Steve was there when I woke up screaming three hours later, he wrapped his arms around me, hushing me gently.

“You’re safe sweetheart. You’re in the tower. You’re safe Doll, I promise,” he said, stroking my hair back as I got my bearings back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, I was – I’m sorry,” I muttered trying to pull away but he held me firmly in place.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” he assured me as he coaxed me to lay back down. “Go back to sleep,” he said softly, pulling the duvet back around me.

“Mmm, stay,” I mumbled, clutching at his shirt. He seemed to hesitate for a second before the bed shifted and his arms wrapped back around me.

I smiled sleepily, shifting so I could rest my head against his chest. The steady _thump, thump_ of his heart sending me back into a dreamless sleep.

.

“ _Captain Rogers, Miss Lewis. Agent Romanoff is trying to override the locks on your apartment door,”_ Jarvis said.

I groaned trying to bury my face further into my pillows and I felt Steve shift behind me.

“Tell her nobody’s here,” I muttered.

“ _I’m afraid she’s already gained access to your apartment,”_ Jarvis said.

“So much for these apartments being secure,” Steve said with a groan as he sat up, his arm still around my shoulders.

Before I could pull away the door swung open and Natasha stood there a very smug look on her face.

“I’m glad to see you _talked,” she_ said giving me a pointed look with a perfectly raised eyebrow.

“Urgh, it’s too early for that,” I said, throwing a pillow in her general direction as I pulled the duvet back over my head.

“Nuh uh,” Natasha said, yanking the duvet back. “You have to come and sort dresses. Plus Jane is leaving in a couple of hours, so if you want to see her off I suggest you get a move on. Also Clint is on his way to meet me and _you_ ,” she looked pointedly at Steve. “Probably don’t want him to find you here like this,”

I groaned as Steve took my hand, pulling me up to my feet.

“Alright, alright, I’m up,” I whined, stumbling back against Steve’s chest.

“Good,” Natasha said, taking my hand. “Let’s go,” she tugged me towards the door.

I groaned clinging onto Steve’s shirt as I reached up to kiss his cheek.

“Save me,” I stage whispered, he chuckled before Natasha pulled me out the room.

She dragged me up to my room, shoving me towards the bathroom as she helped herself through my kitchen cupboards.

I came out of the shower, dressing in a simple pair of leggings and a grey sweater over a simple black tank top.

I quickly dried my hair and did my make-up. Dabbing some extra concealer under my eyes, before applying an extra bright red lipstick, so people would hopefully be distracted from the dark circles.

“So…” Natasha started as she handed me a Black Widow travel mug, filled with steaming coffee.

“So what?” I asked, feigning innocence as I double checked my pockets.

Cell phone? _In my bra, check!_

Knife? _Right book, check!_

“You know what,” Tasha said, shooting me a knowing look as we walked out of my apartment. “You and Steve looked pretty cozy this morning and you spend most of yesterday with him. I’m going to take a wild guess and say your conversation went well?”

“It did,” I said softly. “I told him everything. Literally everything. It was the most terrifying conversation I’ve ever had. But – but it felt kinda good,” I admitted.

Tasha gave a soft smile as she reached out and squeezed my hand.

We walked through the common room, straight to the kitchen where Jane was sitting at the breakfast bar laughing at Clint who was flipping pancakes in extravagant ways.

“Morning,” I greeted as I slid onto the stool next to Jane. Grabbing a plate and a waffle from one of the plates that were already laid out.

“Morning,” Jane said, looking at me questioningly.

“I’m good,” I assured her. “What time are you leaving?”

“About an hour. Tony’s having someone drive me to the airport. He’s annoyed that I’m refusing to take his private jet, so he’s bought me a first class ticket and a chauffeur,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“Never try and deny a gift from Tony Stark,” I said with a slight laugh.

“I’m gonna try and fine Erik while I’m over there. Last I heard is that he’s in England waiting for something,” she said, her eyes flickered to Clint before she lowered her voice. “His family’s worried about him. He’s not been the same since Loki,”

I watched as Clint tense slightly, as if pretending he wasn’t listening.

Natasha snatched the frying pan out of his hand, saying something to him, to draw his focus back to here and now.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” I said, looking back to Jane.

The elevator flashed as Bruce, Betty and Steve came in, taking their seats at the counter.

Pancakes and waffles for breakfast turned into a “Who could flip the most pancakes and make the weirdest waffles” competition, which Jane won, declaring that “Science beats everything,”

“ _Doctor Foster, there is a car waiting in the garage for you. Your luggage has already been sent down,”_ Jarvis announced. _“Sir and Miss Potts wish you a safe flight,”_

“Thanks Jarvis,” Jane said, downing the last mouthful of her coffee, before pushing herself away from the counter.

Jane reached out, hugging Natasha, Clint, Bruce and Betty.

As she hugged Steve she hesitated, saying something too quietly for everyone else to hear, he gave a nod before she hugged him tightly again.

“You call me if you need _anything,” she_ said as she turned to me. “And I wanna hear all about this New Year party,”

“Yes Ma’am,” I said, rolling my eyes as she pulled me into her arms.

“Give him a chance, Darce,” she said softly, resting her chin on my shoulder. “I think he’s different,” I sighed, burying my face in her hair for a minute.

“That’s the problem,” I muttered. “I know he’s different.

.

Half an hour after Jane left Pepper appeared, ready to go.

Clint, who was avoiding calls from S.H.I.E.L.D. who were demanding some sort of paperwork decided to leave his cell phone in his apartment and trail after us as we got ready to leave.

The five of us piled into the elevator and I pressed myself into the back corner, trying to focus on the streets below.

_It’s just an elevator. The doors are going to open in a second and you’re going to be fine._

“Darcy,” I jumped at Clint’s soft voice, my eyes snapped to his before darting to the three closed walls and then back out of the window.

“Darcy, se centran en esto. Traduzco lo que estoy diciendo y me centro en mi voz,” Clint said. _Focus on this. Translate what I’m saying and focus on my voice._ “Usted está en la torre y que estás a salvo,” _You’re in the tower and you’re safe._

“Respirar, Малютка,” Natasha said as Clint took my hand. _Breathe, Little One._

“ _Miss Lewis would you like me to stop the elevator?”_ Jarvis asked. I shook my head, squeezing Clint’s hand tightly as I dug my teeth into my bottom lip.

“Respirar,” Tasha said. “Dentro y fuera,” _Breathe. In and out._

I forced myself to take a deep breath in.

_In and out. In and out. You’re safe._

After what seemed like forever the elevator stopped. The doors slid open but I was frozen to the spot.

Clint tugged me out of the elevator.

I focused on the garage.

_Big space. I can’t see the other wall. That door is open. I’m not trapped. I’m safe!_

I clutched Clint’s hand as I got my bearings.

_I’m safe!_

I winced at the sight of Natasha and Clint’s worried looks and I quickly dropped Clint’s hand.

“I’m sorry. I’m fine. Sorry,” I muttered, tugging at a strand of my hair.

“Hey, you’re okay Darce,” Clint pulled my hand away from my hair. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, loose enough that I could pull away if I wanted, but tight enough that I felt secure as I leant against his chest.

Tasha stood next to me, running a hand through my hair, pulling it back over my shoulders, she combed her fingers through it and twisted strands, but I paid little attention as I clutched at Clint’s shirt.

Nat finished whatever she was doing with my hair and dropped a braid down my back.

“Лучше?” Natasha asked. _Better?_ Rubbing my shoulder gently. “Зто нормально, если вам нужно еще минуту,” _It’s_ _okay_ _if_ _you_ _need_ _another_ _minute_ _._

I nodded, turning my face back into Clint’s shoulder.

_It’s just a shopping trip. You’re with Clint and Natasha. Maria’s meeting us there. You’re safe._

I reached my hand up to tug my hair and frowned, Natasha had pulled it all back away from my face.

“Nada de eso,” he chided gently, pulling my wrist away from my face. _None of that._

Every fibre in me screamed for me to just go back upstairs, go to the gym, shoot something and go back to bed. Anything but go out and deal with people.

“You should come with us,” Natasha said. “If you’re really uncomfortable then Clint will bring you back,” she suggested.

I glanced up at Clint who nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” I said hesitantly, pulling away slightly, wrapping my arms around myself.

Clint kept one arm around me and with the other he took Natasha’s hand as he lead us towards the SUV.

Dress shopping turned out to be quite fun. I was a little hesitant at first but after a half an hour of Clint trying on ridiculous hats and even a pair of heels I relaxed and let myself get caught up in the bright colours.

I tried on nearly two dozen dresses, all of them varying shades of red and gold, none of them seemed right.

Either the neckline didn’t hold my boobs or my leg wasn’t covered properly.

“Maybe I just shouldn’t go,” I said as I handed Maria the thirtieth dress back through the curtain.

“Nope. You’re going and we’re going to find you a dress,” she said, snatching the dress back.

“Here, try this one,” Tasha said, stepping into the changing room, not seeming to care that I was wearing nothing but a strapless bra and panties.

She helped me pull on a floor length red dress.

She pushed me round to face the curtain, she zipped up the top of the skirt and pulled the corset strings not so tight I couldn’t breathe, but tight enough to hold the girls in place.

“There,” she said, putting her hands on my shoulders, turning me to face the mirrors and my eyes widened slightly.

The top of the corset came higher than my breasts, making them look a normal size. The off the shoulders sleeves sat perfectly on my arms,

I ran my hands down, over the thin belt, which was made up of small detailed gold leaves that twisted together perfectly.

The long skirt fell off my hips perfectly as it pooled on the floor around my feet.

“It’s perfect,” I breathed. Natasha smiled softly.

“…” She said. _I told you so._

Maria’s head appeared around the curtain and she smiled before yanking the curtain back.

“That’s the one,” Pepper said, an air of finality in her tone as Clint let out a low whistle from where he was leaning against a shoe rack, a pair of red heels in his hand.

“Try these,” The shop assistant, Sally said holding out a pair of gold heels.

Natasha held my arm as I slid my feet into them, buckling them up.

As I stood back up, the dress no longer pooled around my feet, it now hung an inch from the floor.

I grinned, looking down at myself. _It was perfect._

Pepper refused to let me look at any of the prices as she paid for the dress, shoes and a purse.

Maria, Pepper and Betty headed straight back to the tower with all the shopping while Clint dragged us straight to Sephora.

“Why are we here?” I asked as Natasha and Clint both pulled up their hoods.

“Because Nat’s out of the good eyeliner,” he said and I raised an eyebrow as Tasha rolled her eyes.

“Why are you so interested in Natasha’s make-up?” I asked as he led us over to the shelves of makeup.

“Nat doesn’t like doing fancy make-up for things like galas and undercover ops,” Clint said. “I, on the other hand, once spent six months undercover as a make-up artist, it was quite fun!” He mused. Holding a bottle of foundation up to Tasha’s face, narrowing his eyes critically. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You were a make-up artist?” I asked.

“Yup. Brows, eyes, lips,” he said, waving a hand over Natasha’s face vaguely. “It’s all about framing the face,”

We ended up buying a ridiculously large basket full of make-up as Clint declared he was going to do mine for the ball and I had no say in it what so ever.

By the time we made it back to the tower it was already dark and Jarvis informed us that Pizza was waiting in the common room.

Dinner past in bad reality TV that Clint insisted Steve watch.

And slowly everyone started heading off to bed, making me hesitate.

I didn’t really want to be on Jane’s floor on my own… I could ask Natasha or Clint if I could sleep in their spare room like last time Jane was away, but that would just bother them, right?

Steve? He’s let me stay in his spare room for a couple of days, but we were just making progress and if I kept waking him up at 3am he’d regret the whole thing.

“Hey,” Steve squeezed my hand slightly as Natasha disappeared into the kitchen as she was yelling at Clint. “You’re welcome to stay in my apartment if you want,” he offered lightly. My eyes widened slightly.

“Really? I can go back to my apartment. I’ll be fine –,”

“Darcy,” he cut me off. “It’s okay. I don’t mind,” he assured me.

I smiled softly.

“Thanks, Steve,” I said. “Is it okay if I run up to my apartment and grab something to sleep in and stuff?”

“You don’t need my permission, Doll,” he said nudging me to stand up.

I blushed, but smiled, I reached out pecking his cheek before bouncing up the steps.

“Night Tash, Night Clint,” I called out as I walked over to the stairs.

“Night Cookie!”

“Night Малютка!”

I raced up the stairs to my apartment, grabbing some shorts and t-shirt pyjamas and my toothbrush.

I walked at a much more reasonable speed to Steve’s floor.

I stepped out of the stairwell at the exact same time the elevator doors slid open.

Steve disappeared into his room as I slid into the spare room’s ensuite quickly changing and brushing my teeth, leaving my clothes neatly folded on the counter in the bathroom. I quickly braided my hair, tying it off and dropping it down my back.

I stood awkwardly by the bathroom door, my folded knife clutched in my hand not really sure what to do with it as I pretended to check emails until Steve stepped back into the room wearing a pair of sweatpants and a grey t-shirt.

I tossed my cell on the nightstand, tugging my sleeves.

“What is it?” Steve asked, brushing a strand of hair that had already escaped my braid behind my ear.

“Will you stay with me? You don’t have to. I just sleep better if you’re here,” I said, heat rising to my cheeks as I looked down at the floor, clutching the knife harder as I tugged on the end of my braid slightly.

_Don’t be stupid Darcy. Why would he stay? That’ll just annoy him._

“Of course,” he said, pushing my braid out of my hand and letting it fall back down my back, he gently pried my knife from my hand, setting it on the nightstand next to my cell, so even if I laid down it’d still be within my reach.

Steve waited as I lay down before settling down in front of me. I tossed my glasses onto the nightstand, letting him wrap his arms around me as I curled into his chest.

“G’night Steve,” I muttered.

“Goodnight Sweetheart,” he said, and the last thing I remember was his lips against my forehead.

**Chapter Nineteen  
**

The next few days passed calmly. Every night I’d stayed with Steve and every night had been nightmare free.

Tony left his penthouse for the first time since his operation. His first stop was surprisingly not his lab.

He came down into the common room, moving a little slower than usual as he collapsed onto the couch.

Pepper sat next to him, letting him lay his head on her lap as she was on the phone to a caterer. She ran her hand through his hair and after a minute Tony’s eyes closed as he fell asleep.

Natasha woke me early on the thirty-first, dragging me down to the floor above the gym.

“Is there anything that Tony hasn’t put in this tower?” I asked, looking around the spa, there were massage beds, nail bars, salon chairs, literally everything you’d find if you took a spa day.

“An apple store,” Nat replied and I snorted. Tony’s hate for apple products was so ridiculous it was funny!

“Natasha, Darcy! Come and join us,” Pepper called out from where she was getting her hair curled.

The next five hours were filled with laughter as we got massages as well as our hair and nails done.

The hair stylist, Michelle, pulled my hair back in an intricate looking braided updo.

Natasha dragged me back up to her apartment, where Clint was sitting at breakfast bar, the entire counter set out with make-up, all organised by type and colour.

I sat kind of impatiently as Clint did my make-up.

“Sit still,” he reminded me for the twelfth time as he did my eyeliner.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. Resisting the urge to move again.

I forced myself to sit still as Clint made me look presentable and after nearly forty minutes he declared he was finished.

“Finally!” I exclaimed reaching for the mirror, only for him to slap my hands away.

“Nope, no looking til you’ve got your dress on,” he said. I rolled my eyes, switching places with Nat as I pulled out my phone.

I curled up on the couch, careful not to mess up my hair or make-up, scrolling through Twitters _#MariaStarkBall_ and _#AvengersRedCarpetAssemble_ tags

There was a lot of speculation about how many of the Avengers were going to be in attendance, and a lot more speculation on who would bring dates.

It was also everywhere that tonight was the first social event that Tony had been to since New York.

I clicked on a video of a talkshow.

“ _Now as we all know Tony Stark isn’t known for sobriety, so what with this being his first social event since the Battle of New York and what with the recent battles in Tennessee and saving the President, we aren’t expecting Mr Stark to be sober for very long. What that means for his girlfriend Pepper Potts, we don’t know,”_ The host said.

I rolled my eyes.

Since what happened at Christmas, nobody had seen Tony touch any form of alcohol since being back. He’d been sober even the day we celebrated Christmas, he hadn’t even touched a bottle of beer.

“Ten bucks says Tony doesn’t touch any alcohol but the Champaign tonight,” Clint said, adding a thin layer of blush to Nat’s cheeks.

“I reckon he won’t even touch that,” I said, Nat hummed in agreement.

“ _I can confirm that the last week is the longest Sir has been without alcohol since he was fourteen,”_ Jarvis put in, a hint of what might have been pride in his voice. I gave a low whistle.

“That’s young even for Tony. I thought sixteen at the earliest,” I commented.

“ _Indeed,”_ Jarvis said.

“Okay, you’re done,” Clint interrupted, leaning back to look at Tasha, his eyes scanning her face critically, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. “You girls go play dress up, but we’re meeting in the Common Room in half an hour,”

Nat nodded, sliding off the stool, she pulled me to my feet and dragged me towards her bedroom.

I hadn’t been in Clint and Nat’s bedroom before and I don’t know what I expected. But this wasn’t it.

The walls had black, patterned wallpaper and unlike my apartment there was soft grey carpet.

It was very modern, with mostly black and white furniture and lamps except for a bright red couch against the wall of windows and various purple cushions on the armchair and the bed.

I don’t know why, but it worked perfectly.

The calm, mature theme with the bright, random splashes of colour, that complimented both Natasha’s calm, collected personality, and Clint’s excitable, almost childish one.

“C’mon, your dress is in here,” Natasha said, leading me into the closet. It was clearly divided, Natasha’s clothes on the right, Clint’s on the left.

At the very front were their suits. Varying types of Natasha’s catsuit, different colours and with different logos.

Several models of her Widow Bites on one shelf, three guns and six knives along with several small, circular devices which I think were EMP’s.

Clint’s suits mirrored hers some black with purple seams, another one had a single dark purple sleeve.

One bow leant against the wall with a double quiver full of arrows, ready to use at a moment’s notice too, had two shelves, one with a large array of knives and a pistol.

The second had a semi-automatic sniper rifle and a case full of spare ammo.

Behind their suits there were rows of casual, every day clothes, all coordinated by colour.

Each side had a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D. black suits and at the back were varying styles of formal evening wear.

On the very back wall were shelves of wigs and accessories, most of which were probable varying levels of lethal. _(The accessories, not the wigs… Could wigs be lethal? This was Natasha’s closet…)_

“Hell of a wardrobe,” I muttered.

“This isn’t even half of it. More expensive and dangerous outfits are kept at the Triskelion,” she said, grabbing two dress bags.

“The Triskelion?” I asked. I’d heard the name quite a bit since I’d been here, but nobody had actually explained what it was.

“It’s S.H.I.E.L.D.’s main headquarters in Washington, where Clint and I used to be based,” she said, hooking the bags on the door, unzipping the first to reveal my dress.

I bit my lip, forcing myself not to start grinning like an idiot going to their first dance.

I changed quickly, letting Natasha do me up and help me step up into my heels, I tossed my phone and my taser into my clutch, closing it with a snap.

“Here,” Nat said, tossing me a leather holster. “Thigh holster, for your knife,”

I smiled slightly, bunching my dress up, strapping it round my real leg. Sliding my knife securely in place.

Nat nodded to a familiar box on a shelf which apparently she, or most likely Clint had stolen from my apartment.

I carefully lifted the Concealment device from the box, taking care as I laid it on the top of my metal leg.

I watched as it recalibrated, shiny silver fading into flawless flesh.

I let my skirt fall back around my ankles and stood back up properly.

Natasha moved behind me, guiding me to stand in front of the mirror and I gave a soft gasp.

For once I stood next to Natasha in all her radiance and I felt something other than jealously.

Clint had make me look flawless, soft Smokey eyes and perfect winged eyeliner, made my blue eyes shine brightly.

My lips were a soft nude colour which didn’t make me look as pale as normal.

With most of my hair pinned back, only a couple of curls hung free, framing my face with an image of unusual elegance.

Between the dress and the shoes I looked taller, which made my figure look a little more proportioned, it was nice not looking as if someone had stuck a G cup on someone the height of a fourteen year old.

I took in my image and grinned brightly as confidence surged through me.

_I looked fucking hot!_

My eyes drifted back to Natasha, her red hair falling in natural curls around her shoulders, her long red dress, complimenting her curves as it fell down to the floor, a long slit up to her tight revealing a stretch of smooth, pale skin.

She balanced perfectly in her red heels, she was the definition of grace and elegance.

“ _Agent Barton would like me to inform you that it is time leave,”_ Jarvis announced, causing a wave of sudden anxiety to suddenly wash through me.

_I had to walk down a red carpet on the arm of a national icon in six inch heels and a long dress…_

“Hey,” Natasha placed a gently hand on my arm. “Just keep your chin up. Steve won’t let you fall. Focus on him and us, and ignore everybody else. You’re going to be fine,” she assured me.

I took a steadying breath before nodding.

“Okay,” I said. “Let’s go,”

.

Tasha and I took the elevator to the common room where Clint, Steve, Pepper and Tony were sitting at the breakfast bar.

Pepper looked incredible. She was wearing a floor length cut out, gold dress, her strawberry blonde hair curled past her shoulders.

She was wearing a pair of ridiculously high heels, gold heels and had a small gold clutch in her hand.

Steve and Clint stood up as we walked towards them, Clint winked at me before stepping up to Natasha’s side, wrapping an arm around her waist.

I looked up at Steve as he stepped in front of me.

“You look beautiful,” he said, a bright grin on his face.

My eyes drifted the length of his body, my mouth watered… _What did humans ever do to deserve Steve Rogers?_

“You look pretty good yourself, Captain,” I replied, looking back up at him with a smile.

“ _Sir, the cars have just pulled into the garage,”_ Jarvis announced.

“Time to go,” Tony said, clapping his hands. “That is if Capsicle and Lewis have stopped staring longingly into each other’s eyes,”

I glared over my shoulder at him, and to my surprise Bruce and Betty were stood next to him.

The elevator wasn’t comfortably big enough for all of us, so Pepper, Tony, Bruce and Betty went down first and Natasha, Clint, Steve and I stepped into the elevator as soon as it came back up.

I stood in front of the window, my fingers resting on the rail as I looked out at the city.

There seemed to be more people than usual outside the tower, flashing cameras of the media and cosplaying fans all hoping to get a glimpse of the Avengers as they left.

The elevator came to a stop and we were ushered into the back of a sleek black limousine.

“Rhodey and Maria are arriving separately, they have to represent individual agencies,” Pepper said. “I know most of the people here are carrying various weapons, but they stay away unless absolutely necessary, and if someone asks, you say you’re unarmed,”

Everyone nodded.

“Also, I have the day off tomorrow, so I don’t want to spend my day off regulating the media,” she warned, shooting a pointed look at Tony. “Is that clear?” she asked.

There was a chorus of “Yes, ma’am,”’s as the car pulled to a stop.

“Let the chaos begin,” Tony said with a smirk, sliding a pair of sunglasses on as the driver opened the door.

Camera’s flashed through the door as Tony slid out, holding out a hand for Pepper.

_Let the chaos begin indeed!_

**Chapter Twenty  
**

I took Steve’s hand and as I stepped out of the car I tried to embrace my inner dancer, to be as graceful as possible.

“Chin up and smile,” Natasha reminded me, as she slid out of the limo, linking her arm with Clint’s.

I tilted my chin up and smiled, sliding my hand through Steve’s offered arm.

“Captain Rogers, who is your date?”

“Agent Romanoff, what are you wearing?”

“Mr Stark, can you comment on what happened last week?”

Reporters yelled from behind the blinding lights.

“Aw c’mon, why don’t they ever ask me any questions?” Clint whined, making Natasha roll her eyes.

“Better no questions than the misogynistic questions that Natasha nd Pepper get,” I commented as Nat wrapped an arm around my waist, to smile for a camera, humming in agreement.

“Captain Rogers! Can I have a moment of your time?” A blonde reporter said from the edge of the red carpet.

I went to step back but Steve caught my hand.

“Nope,” he said. “You’re not letting me into the sea of reporters alone,” he tugged me with him, over to the waiting reporter who promptly introduced herself.

“Christine Everheart, Vanity Fair,” she said, shaking Steve’s hand.

I recognised the name instantly. She was the reporter who told Tony about the under the table dealings that I wasn’t supposed to know about, she wrote the amazing piece about Pepper when she became CEO.   
When I had to write a paper about representation in the media, both as a reporter and a celebrity, Christine Everheart’s name appeared in my paper more than once.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am,” Steve said with a tight, but genuine smile.

“This is your first public even since New York, besides the press conference is it not?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“It is. I’ve got to admit that this is a lot flashier than what I’m used to,” Steve said with a laugh.

“Well Stark galas have been known to be… Eccentric,” she said then looked over at me. “I don’t believe we’ve met your date before?”

“I’m Darcy Lewis,” I said before Steve could introduce me. “People might recognise me from when I was the top of Twitter’s trends list a few months ago,” I said.

“‘Mystery Girl’ Darcy Lewis?” she said in realisation. I nodded.

“First shopping with Hawkeye and The Black Widow and now you’re attending a ball with Captain America. I’m sure a lot of people are wondering how you became friends with the _World’s Mightiest Heros_?” she asked.

“I tazed Thor and I now live in the tower with the rest of them,” I said simply. “It’d be kinda hard to live with the Avengers and not be their friend. I wouldn’t want to be on their bad side. Especially whilst living under the same roof,” I said, Steve chuckled as Christine laughed.

“C’mon, we’re not _that_ bad,” Steve said. I raised an eyebrow in a way that would make Natasha proud.

“One word Rogers: Dodgeball,” I said. An adorable pink blush rose up to his cheeks, making me smirk triumphantly.

“Dodgeball?” Christine asked with a curious smile.

“The Avengers have team bonding sessions on occasion. Dodgeball is no longer permitted,” I explained briefly.

Christine laughed. The interview went on asking the usual questions about the opportunities that came with the Avengers Initiative and Christine asked about Steve’s knowledge on the Maria Stark foundation and their charities.

“Lastly, can I quickly get your opinion on Stark Industries latest project that Miss Potts is announcing tonight?” she asked.

Steve glanced back at me.

“I can’t tell you _what_ it is. But I know its life changing. Since I came out of the ice I’ve seen a lot of amazing things but this, this is just incredible!” Steve gushed and I grinned in agreement. _Life changing was one word for it._

Christine thanked us for our time and we moved further down the red carpet speaking to different reporters about mostly the same things

Steve signed some autographs and took pictures with some fans.

It took nearly two hours to reach the end of the red carpet, and I gave a sigh of relief as the warmth of the entrance hall surrounded me.

“You okay?” Steve asked, his hand brushing mine.

“I nodded.

“This is just insane,” I replied as we stepped into the ball room. I looked around with wide eyes.

Red and gold decorations were hung elegantly from everywhere, but it wasn’t over the top how I expected. A gaped at the large chandelier that hung in the centre of the room.

“That’s one word for it,” Steve said, a look of awe in his eyes as he took everything in.

“Cap! Lewis!” Tony yelled from across the room, beckoning us over to The Avengers designated table.

Steve led me over, pulling out a chair for me between him and Clint.

“Thanks,” I smiled, setting my clutch on the table.

“So, Pepper’s doing the fancy announcement, then food, then partying, then New Year and then more partying,” Tony listed.

“That ‘Fancy Announcement’ as you so elegantly put it is happening momentarily. So if you’ll excuse me,” Pepper said, leaning over to kiss Tony on the cheek before pushing away from the table, she strode elegantly up the steps onto the stage.

An instant hush fell across the hall, the last few people took their seats, looking up at Pepper expectantly.

“Good evening, I’d like to start by thanking you all for being here tonight. On behalf of Tony Stark, I’d like to remind you that one hundred percent of tonight’s proceeds will be split between the Maria Stark Foundations chosen charities,” she said, her voice echoing around the room.

“As you know Stark Industries would like to take a moment tonight to announce our latest project.

“2013 is almost here and between injured veterans returning from overseas, children being born with missing limbs and people with lifelong illnesses and injuries. Unfortunately science isn’t yet at a stage to cure a lot of the disabilities that people have to live with daily.

“However, we do have the resources to begin research and development to help make the lives of these people easier,” Peppers eyes drifted over and settled on our table for a moment.

“In the past six months our top researchers have created a way to advance prosthesis as we know them,” A soft murmur of surprise ran across the crowd.

“Stark Industries made its first robotic prosthetic leg earlier this year. With _full_ mobility and feeling. It connects to the end of her stump and has become a permanent attachment. It works just as her other leg does. She can move her toes, feel a carpet under foot, she can swim and run and kick better than she ever could before. There is nothing she can’t do that rest of us can.

“Stark Industries is recreating this technology and is aiming to make it available to _everybody,_ no matter their health insurance or background,” Another, louder murmur rippled across the room.

“Who’s going to pay for this?” One of the reporters asked loudly.

“Each prosthesis will have to be made specially made for each person. They aren’t something that can just be made in bulk. Funding for each prosthetic will also work in a case by case basis, financial help is something that Stark Industries can afford to offer its clients and we will offer our clients,” Pepper said smoothly.

More questions were asked and a couple of pictures were shown of my leg, before it was attached, and a couple of photos of my physio sessions without my face visible.

A couple more questions were asked before Pepper smoothly reminded the media that this wasn’t a press conference, before finishing her speech and reclaiming her seat.

Food was served in a four course meal and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten as much.

Natasha glared at a photographer who was trying to take a picture of her eating a second serving of chocolate profiteroles.

The tables were cleared and drinks were handed out. Tony shook his head at the offered glass of scotch and the waitress came back with a bottle of water.

I looked over at Clint and Natasha who were both smiling, clearly remembering our earlier conversation.

Almost as soon as everything was cleared the band picked up and couples started moving onto the dance floor. Tony grabbed Peper’s hand, dragging her into a space.

I watched as Pepper threw her head back and laughed as he twirled her extravagantly.

Maria was sitting at the next table over, talking to Rhodey and other representatives.

“So Cap, the rumours, are they true?” Natasha asked, leaning her forearms on the table.

Steve raised his eyebrows.

“What rumours might that be Romanoff?” he asked, a hint of caution in his voice.

“That you can’t dance,” she said with a smirk.

Steve groaned, a pink tinting his cheeks. Natasha’s smirk turned into a grin.

“Who told you that?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

“It’s in your file,” she replied.

“Why would my lack of dancing skills be in my S.H.I.E.L.D. file?” he queried.

“Because you’re one of the few people who haven’t edited their file,” Nat said, giving me a pointed look.

“Busted,” Clint said with a smirk as heat rose to my face.

“Maria will probably want to have a conversation with you about that later. Back to the actual topic at hand here,” Nat looked back at Steve who held his hands up.

“No okay. I can’t dance,” he admitted.

“You came from the forties. I thought everyone in the forties could dance,” Clint said.

“Nah, Bucky danced enough for both of us back then,” Steve said with a fond smile, his eyes fixed on the table, I watched as he seemed to drift into the past.

“Does this mean I get a free pass on dancing tonight?” I asked, Steve’s head snapped back up and he shifted in his chair, running a hand through his hair before turning his attention back to us.

“’Fraid not Cookie,” Clint said. “Did you not hear Pepper’s speech? ‘There’s nothing you can’t do that the rest of us can.’ That means you have to dance,”

“Hmm. I’m pretty sure that means I _can_ dance, it doesn’t mean I _must_ dance. There’s a difference,” I corrected. “Besides, I’m pretty sure this type of dancing requires a partner and my date can’t dance, so that means I get a free pass,” I said, looking thankfully at Steve.

Natasha stared at me for a minute before suddenly pushing back from the table, she moved round the back of Clint’s chair and pulled mine back.

“What are you – Nat this isn’t what I meant!” I protested as she took my hand, pulling me from my chair and dragging me towards the dance floor. I looked over my shoulder for help only to find Steve and Clint laughing.

“Kind of turned on, kind of terrified right now,” I blurted out as Tasha pulled me round to stand in front of her, she smirked. “Tasha I haven’t danced in years and have _never_ danced like this,” I said, gesturing to the waltzing couples, who were all male/female pairs.

“Follow my lead,” she said, putting one hand on my waist, taking my hand with the other. “You might even make the front page,” she said, nodding her head to the camera’s that were now focussed on us.

“I can see the threesome rumours again already,” I sighed, putting my hand on her shoulder, holding her hand lightly. “If you let me fall flat on my face I will kill you,” I threatened, rising up on my toes, I paused.

_I definitely didn’t just threaten THE Black Widow._

Natasha just laughed lightly before stepping.

As it turned out, dancing with Natasha wasn’t all that hard.

She led each step, she spun me round, letting my dress fly out around me.

I laughed as I stopped spinning and the song came to an end making me stumble slightly.

Natasha caught my arm as my head spun.

“I thought you used to be a dancer,” she said with a laugh as she started to guide me back towards the table.

“I was, but I tend to need a little warning before someone spins me like that,” I said as she let me drop back down in my chair. “Ergh,” I collapsed against Steve’s side, my head dropping onto his shoulder as I reached for my glass of water.

“Definitely gonna be front page,” Clint said, taking Natasha’s hand on top of the table.

The night passed in laughter as I ended up dancing with Clint, Tony, Bruce, Natasha (again) and Rhodey. I even managed to get a slow dance with Steve where he just had to stand in one spot and sway.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s nearing midnight and I’d like to invite you all outside to welcome in the New Year,” Pepper said.

We followed the crowd out into the gardens and I hissed as the cold, winter air hit me.

Despite the outdoor heaters and the large group of people, it was still December in New York.

“Here,” Steve said, sliding his arms out of his jacket, offering it out for me.

“Its fine Steve, you’ll get cold,” I said, shaking my head.

“Super Soldier body heat. The temperature will have to drop quite a lot for me to get cold,” he assured me. I hesitated for a second before sliding my arms into his jacket. It dropped down onto my shoulders, Steve stayed behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, his chin resting on the top of my head.

Warmth surrounded me and my shivering stopped almost instantly.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much,” I hummed, resting my hands on top of his, leaning back into his chest as the countdown begun, projected brightly in the sky.

_10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!_

Cheers erupted around us and I turned in Steve’s arms to look up at him.

Even with the five inches of my heels I was still almost a head shorter than Steve.

The flashes from the fireworks splashed bright colours against his pale skin. His eyes locked with mine and I licked my suddenly dry lips.

Between the bangs of the fireworks and the thumping of my pulse in my ears, everything around me seemed to blur.

I noticed every detail; the sharp angle of his jaw, the shine in his eyes as they flickered to my lips and the soft curve of his lips as he smiled softly.

He tilted his head down and I rose up, meeting half way in between.

The world seemed to stop as his mouth covered mine in a soft, yet hungry kiss. I let my eyes fall closed as I responded. His mouth was warm and his lips surprisingly soft.

My hands slid up his arms, one clutching his jacket the other holding the back of his neck as I pulled him further down.

One of his hands was on my waist, his fingers digging into my hip as he pulled me closer, the other cupped my face. His touch gentle, almost innocent as his tongue ran across my lip.

I pulled back, catching my breath as my eyes fluttered open.

Butterflies flew in my stomach as I looked up at him, my hands sliding back down to his arms.

He looked down at me and smiled, his lips slightly swollen with a tint of lipstick.

I grinned giddily.

Nothing else mattered as I lost myself in his gaze.

“Happy New Year!” He breathed. I giggled slightly, biting my lip to stop myself.

“Happy New Year!”

**Chapter Twenty-One**

I groaned, trying to bury my head further into the pillows as my phone cut through my sleep.

I sighed, reaching over Steve’s body to grab my phone. I had to squint to make to read the screen, but my eyes widened in surprise as Chelsea’s name flashed across the screen.

I glanced at the clock. 0 _4:26._ Worry flooded through me.

“Hello?” I said, pressing the phone to my ear.

“ _Darcy its Mike,”_ I sat up straighter causing Steve to stir.

“Mike what’s wrong? Why are you calling from Chelsea’s phone?” I asked, panic lacing my voice.

“Darce?” Steve asked quietly in concern, a held up a hand making him pause.

“ _I left my phone at home, didn’t have time to pick it up. Everything’s fine. Chelsea’s gone into labour. We’re at New York Methodist Hospital,” he_ said, my eyes widened, as I scrambled out of bed.

“I’m on my way,” I said, hanging up, tossing my cell phone onto the nightstand as I grabbed my glasses.

“Darcy, what’s wrong?” Steve asked, coming to stand in front of me.

“Chelsea’s gone into labour. I need to go see her,” I told him, reaching for my duffle bag of clothes, grabbing a pair of jeans and a tank top.

“I’ll get dressed. I’ll drive you,” he said. I gave a brief nod, digging through my bag for some underwear.

I went into the bathroom, changing quickly and freshening up.

I brushed my hair, the braids last night had caused my hair to fall in tight waves, that I let fall down my back.

I sat on the edge of the bed, yanking on my boots and once the laces were done up I paused, my eyes settling on the chair across the room where my dress from last night and Steve’s jacket, which I’d kept on after we left rested on top.

I smiled softly, remembering how we welcomed the New Year.

How I started 2013 off by kissing Captain America.

“Are you ready?” Steve asked, knocking softly on the doorframe.

I spun round, snapping back to reality.

“Yes. We should miss most of the traffic and Mike said everything was fine but she’s in labour and anything could go wrong at any minute and –,”

“Darcy!” Steve caught my arm, cutting my panicked rambling short. Making me look up at him. “Breathe, it’s going to be fine,” he said.

I sighed, looking up at him, he stared back down at me his confident expression never wavering.

I went to reach out for him, to kiss him. But I stopped myself, pulling my hands to my chest.

“What is it?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

“I – I – Can I kiss you?” I asked, it seemed silly to ask, but Steve smiled.

“You never need to ask, Doll,” he said, ducking his head down.

Our lips met softly, and I felt my anxiety melt away as his hand wove through my hair.

We seemed to mould together perfectly until I he gently pulled away, his thumb tracing patterns on the back of my neck.

“We should go,” he breathed and I nodded, letting him pull me into his side, his arm wrapped around my shoulders, assuring me of his presence as the elevator took it’s time.

“Jarvis, can you please make sure the Science crew don’t kill themselves while I’m gone, and if anyone asks where we are, tell them that Chelsea’s gone into labour,” I said.

“ _Certainly Miss Lewis. Although I cannot guarantee Sir’s actions will not lead to mild explosions until you return,”_ Jarvis replied and Steve snorted.

“That’s sounds like Tony,” I muttered. “Thanks J,”

“ _Anytime,”_

The half an hour drive seemed to take forever, I tapped my hand nervously against my leg until Steve reached out, lacing our fingers together to stop me.

Steve parked the car and we rushed through the corridors, following the directions a nurse gave us to the Maternity ward.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist at the Maternity desk asked.

“I’m looking for Chelsea Grey. She came in a couple of hours ago in labour,” I said.

“Are you family?” The lady asked, scrolling through her computer.

“The babies my brothers,” I said.

“Is your brother here with her?” she questioned and I hesitated.

_Jake should be here. He should be able to see his child be born._

“Her brother was killed in combat six months ago,” Steve said, putting a hand on my shoulder, drawing circles on the back of my neck with his thumb.

“Oh, I’m sorry. She came in with a Mike Davidson. She’s in room 2, down that corridor. Just knock on the door,” she said, pointing towards a corridor.

“Thank you,” Steve said, steering me down the corridor.

I knocked on the door labelled _Room Two._

“Come in,” A soft, familiar voice called out from inside.

Pushing the door open I smiled at the sight of Chelsea, propped up on a couple of pillows, Mike sitting on her right holding her hand.

“Darcy,” Chelsea breathed as I stepped into the room, I moved over hugging her gently. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“I’ve missed you too,” I said, pulling away to wrap my arms around Mike’s neck. “I’ve missed both of you,”

Mike hugged me tightly for a minute before setting me back on my feet.

I hadn’t seen either of them since Jake’s funeral, except the occasional video or phone call.

“I bought company. I hope you don’t mind,” I said, reaching out to take Steve’s hand. Mike and Chelsea both glanced at me before smiling.

“It’s good to see you again,” Mike said, shaking Steve’s hand.

“Likewise,” Steve replied with a nod.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, turning my attention back to Chelsea.

“Pretty good,” she sighed, rubbing circles on her bump. “I had an epidural, I was about 7cm when Mike phoned you. The midwife said Little One is in a hurry. A couple of hours at the most, she said. I can’t have any more pain relief because Little One’s a bit earlier,”

I smiled softly.

“I thought you were in New Jersey. What are you doing in Brooklyn?” I asked, taking a seat next to her bed.

“My dad had to go to Chicago for some business thing. Mike said I could come stay with him for New Year,” Chelsea explained.

“You should have called. I’m practically around the corner,” I said.

“I know. I’m sorry,” she said. “But it seemed like you’ve all had a lot on in the last week,” she gave me a pointed look.

“It’s been chaos,” I said, looking up at Steve who snorted.

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” he asked rhetorically.

I rolled my eyes, looking back to Chelsea who winced suddenly, pressing her hand to her stomach.

“Chelsea?” I asked in worry, as she reached out grabbing my hand tightly.

“Mike,” she groaned, pain lacing her voice. “Get the nurse,” she said, her voice raising an octave or two.

“Yeah,” Mike breathed, his eyes widening in panic as he practically ran out of the room.

I stood up, moving closer to the bed as she clutched my hand.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” I breathed, brushing the strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail.

The door opened and Mike followed a blonde haired midwife back into the room.

“Chelsea, you need to take deep breathes, like we practiced earlier. Do you want someone to stay with you?” she asked. Chelsea nodded, pulling my hand closer to her as she tried to breathe through her pain. “Okay. You gentlemen will have to wait outside,”

Steve and Mike nodded, stepping out of the room, shutting the door softly behind them.

“I’m going to take a look down there okay?” The midwife said, Chelsea nodded. “I’m Emily by the way,” she added to me.

“Darcy,” I nodded. Perching on the edge of the bed, wrapping my arm around Chelsea’s shoulders, trying to provide as much comfort as possible.

Emily pulled up the blanket, and hummed.

“Okay. You’re ready to push. Take a deep breath and push as hard as you can. Not gonna lie, this is gonna hurt like hell and I unfortunately I can’t give you anything else for that,” Emily said. Chelsea nodded, scrunching up her face and pushed.

“I can’t do this. I can’t,” Chelsea sobbed after what seemed life forever.

“Yes you can. You’re doing amazing. I just need one last massive push,” Emily said.

“I can’t do this. It hurts,” she cried. “I need Jake. I want Jake,” she sobbed.

My heart ached at the broken look on her face.

“Chelsea, hey Chelsea look at me,” I said, one hand clutching hers, the other cupping her face. “You _can_ do this. You’re so brave and so strong. Think of Jake, he would be so proud of you right now. He believed in you and _I_ believe in you!” I stressed.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and after a second she nodded.

“Good girl,” Emily said. “One last big push,”

Chelsea gripped my hand, making me wince slightly as she screamed.

Her scream died out, turning into something between a sigh and a sob.

A high pinched cry rang through the room and Chelsea sobbed through a grin.

“It’s a girl,” Emily said. “Do you want her on your chest?” she asked.

Chelsea nodded pushing her hospital gown down a bit, as Emily carefully lay Little One on her chest, she was messy, but she was beautiful.

Her tiny face scrunched up as she wailed.

“Oh my god,” Chelsea breathed, as she ran her hand over the fine brown hair. Little One’s crying died down and I gasped as she looked up at Chelsea with very familiar bright blue eyes that I hadn’t seen in months. “Hello sweetie. I’m your Mommy,” A tear dripped down my cheek and I quickly swiped it away as Chelsea glanced up at me. “Your Daddy isn’t here anymore, but he would have loved you so, so much. Just like I do,” Chelsea wiped her own tears away.

“I need to cut the cord,” Emily said, Chelsea nodded, shifting slightly so Emily could clamp the cord, cutting it smoothly. “Can I clean her up a little bit? I’ll be right over there,” she gestured to the table and crib.

Chelsea hesitated but nodded. Not taking her eyes off of her baby as Emily carefully carried her to the table.

“She’s 5lb’s exactly,” Emily announced, checking her over. “That’s a little small, but that’s to be expected. Other than that she seems to be perfectly healthy,” I watched as she wrapped her up in a soft white blanket. Carrying her back over. “I need to get you cleaned up Chelsea. Would you like to put her in the crib or Darcy to hold her?”

“Darcy can hold her,” Chelsea said and I smiled, Emily stepped closer, passing her into my arms as I carefully supported her head.

My eyes burned as I looked down at a pair of identical blue eyes. _Jakes eyes!_

I smiled as I stepped backwards, carefully sitting down as I carefully brushed my finger down her cheek.

“Hey Cariño,” _Sweetie._ I said softly. “I’m your Auntie Darcy. You’re so perfect and I know that your Daddy loves you, even though he isn’t here anymore, I’m never going to let you forget how much he loves you and how proud he’s going to be of you,”

I sniffed slightly as tears ran freely down my cheeks.

“Te amo Cariño,” _I love you Sweetie._ I said. “I love you so much,”

“All done,” Emily said and I looked back up, wiping my tears away.

I stood back up, walking across the room, gently setting her down in Chelsea’s arms seconds before she started fussing.

“She’s probably hungry,” Emily said.

“I’ll give you a minute, I’ll go tell Mike and Steve,” I said, running my fingers over Little One’s forehead for a second as I placed a kiss on Chelsea’s forehead.

I smiled at Emily as I walked past, stepping into the corridor, closing the door softly.

Mike was in front of me instantly, taking in my tear soaked face.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, I grinned brightly, managing to nod.

“It’s a girl, she’s a little small but she’s healthy and Chelsea’s fine, they’re both happy and perfect,” I said.

Mike laughed picking me up in a bear hug, spinning me around before setting me down and I leant into Steve, wrapping my arms around his waist, he grinned down at me.

We moved back to the waiting area and I pulled out my phone as I leant into his side.

_From Clint:  
-Is everything okay? Keep us posted?_

_From Pepper:  
-Jarvis told us where you are. If you need anything just call._

_From Jane:  
-Clint told me Chelsea was in labour. Let me know how everything is?_

_To Clint; Pepper; Jane:  
-It’s a girl! 5lb on the dot, they’re both doing great!! _

I went through a couple more unimportant messages, sliding my phone back into my pocket as the door opened and Emily stepped out.

“Everything’s fine. Chelsea say’s you can go back in,” she said.

Walking back into room I smiled, Chelsea was sitting up, grinning down at a bundle of blankets.

“Come in,” she said softly. I stepped up to the side, watching as small hands tried to clasp at Chelsea’s finger.

“Do you have a name?” I asked. Chelsea nodded.

“Yeah. Jake – Jake and I talked about kids once, we decided on a list of names if it ever happened,” she smiled softly. “Malia Jacey Lewis. It means peaceful. Jacey, if she were a boy it would have been Jacob,” she looked up at me and I smiled.

“It’s perfect,” I assured her, resting my hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

I took a picture, of her, her bright blue eyes staring up the camera as she played with her Mom’s finger.

_To Pepper; Janel Clint:  
-Malia Jacey Lewis. Healthy and perfect!_

**Chapter Twenty-Two  
**

We spent the rest of the day at the hospital.

Clint randomly showed up at lunch time with armfuls of balloons and gifts courtesy of the Avengers.

Chelsea and Malia were given the all clear and discharged at around five o’clock.

They were going to stay with Mike for a while until either he got his orders or she found a new, decent apartment, before she started her new job at this very hospital.

“If you need anything. You know where I am. You’re both welcome _anytime,”_ I said, hugging Chelsea tightly.

“I will. But that goes both ways,” she pulled away, brushing my hair out of my face. She glanced over at Steve who was standing by the car with Clint. “I know you Darcy. If you need to talk or get away from the crazy stuff, you call me,” she said.

I smiled and nodded.

“I will. I promise,” I said before crouching down reach into Malia’s car seat that Mike was holding. “I promise I’m going to come see you soon. Try not to keep your mom up every night,” I said softly. Letting her try and grab my fingers before leaning forward. Gently pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Auntie Darcy loves you,” I breathed before standing up, wrapping my arms around Mike’s neck.

“Be careful,” he said, hugging me tightly. “If you need any superheroes put down a notch,” he gave Steve a pointed look over my head as he pulled away. “I want an in detailed description, or maybe even a video of how you do it,”

I laughed lightly.

“You bet,” I said, I gave them one last smile before turning to the car where Steve pulled open the door for me.

I rolled my eyes, but slid into the passenger seat, throwing a quick mock salute to Mike before Steve shut the car door.

.

When we got back to the tower I collapsed onto the breakfast bar, reaching for the coffee pot, I poured a mug, practically inhaling the hot liquid.

_God, decent coffee that was not in a polystyrene cup is officially the nicest thing ever!_

I shoved a couple of poptarts in the toaster and poured myself a second mug off coffee.

The toaster popped and I tossed them on a plate before weaving across the empty common room, dropping down in the conversation pit.

My StarkPad balanced on my knees, scrolling with one hand with a Poptart in the other.

I opened Twitter and instantly regretted it as my eyes hit the trends list.

_Worldwide Trends:  
#AvengersRedCarpetAssemble  
2013  
Steve Rogers  
Darcy Lewis  
#StarkIndustries  
#MysteryGirl  
The Avengers  
#Clintasha  
The Black Widow  
Tony Stark Sobriety? _

I groaned, tapping on my name and scanned the top of the page, tapping on the first article.

_ Steve Rogers’ One Night Stand  
_ _By: Oliver Peters._

_Last night on the #AvengersRedCarpetAssemble Steve Rogers AKA Captain America was seen with Darcy Lewis on his arm, she accompanied him unnecessarily to each interview and as later seen kissing him at Midnight._

_Miss Lewis has never been seen with Captain Rogers before but was at the centre of the #MysteryGirl trend last summer when she was seen out with Agents Barton and Romanoff, she was photographed in the lingerie store, Victoria Secrets, with both Agents.  
Shopping for underwear with friends or were they something more?_

_Whilst walking the Red Carpet, as Captain Rogers date she did seem overly friendly with his team mates and even shared several dances with all of them._

_Now, several months later Miss Lewis is seen on the arm of Captain America and has been pictured with both Mr Stark and Doctor Banner._

_Miss Lewis’ position in the Avengers Tower is an assistant to Doctor Jane Foster, who is reportedly in a relationship with Thor, but she is also living in very close quarters to all of the Avengers._

_Are her relationships with the Avengers purely platonic? Or is she something more to the team?_

Tears burned behind my eyes, I knew it wasn’t true but… Is that what people really thought of me?

When my father ‘visited’ he thought I was paying my way by sleeping with people in the tower. Now the world thought the same. Did everyone seriously think I was just a whore?

“ _Miss Lewis, my sensors indicate you are in some sort of distress. Would you like me to alert somebody? Perhaps Captain Rogers?”_ Jarvis asked.

I quickly scrubbed away my traitorous tears and shook my head.

“No, thanks though Jarvis. I’m fine,” I assured the AI, closing the article and scrolling back through the twitter feed.

Not all of the articles were that bad, some were actually pretty good.

_ Darcy Lewis, Political Science Graduate and First Contact With Asgardians Attends The Maria Stark Foundation Ball With Captain Rogers! _

_By: Christine Everhart._

_Last night on the Red Carpet for the Maria Stark Foundation Ball, Darcy Lewis – who graduated Culver top of her class with a major in Political Science and a Minor in Online Journalism, Miss Lewis also has a degree in Computer Science which she achieved through online courses when she was just sixteen – walked the Red Carpet on Captain Rogers arm._

_They managed to spare a moment with me, confirming that she was there as his date and that she is in fact close friends with all of the Avengers._

“ _I tazed Thor and now I live in the tower with the rest of them,” she told me. “It’d be kinda hard to live with the Avengers and not be their friend, they’re all just as amazing at home, as they are when they’re off saving the world. Except for Clint unhealthy obsession with bad eighties movies, that sucks. I wouldn’t want to be on their bad side though, especially while living under the same roof,”_

_Sources tell us that Miss Lewis has a close relationship with everyone that lives in the tower, but wouldn’t anybody living together for a long period of time?_

_Miss Lewis is a qualified woman who earned her place in the Avengers Tower just like everyone else that lives and works there._

I smiled slightly. _Good to know that not everybody thought I was a whore!_

I retweeted her article and liked several other tweets, saving a couple of other pictures and sending a picture of all of us on the Red Carpet to Pepper with the suggestion to put it on the Avengers Instagram.

I spent half an hour scrolling through Twitter, my follower count had risen dramatically.

Pictures had also been taken of Steve and I going into the hospital this morning and more of Clint on the Subway with _It’s a Girl!_ balloons and bags full of gifts.

Rumours flew about who we were visiting but I was pleased to see that nobody had seen us with Chelsea and there was nothing of her, Malia or Mike.

I smiled softly, tossing my tablet on the cushion next to me, stretching my arms up, wincing as my shoulders and back clicked.

“Hey Jarvis, where is everybody?” I asked.

“ _Sir, Doctors Banner and Ross are in the labs, Ms Potts is in the Penthouse, Agent Romanoff is on Agent Barton’s floor, whilst Agent Barton and Captain Rogers are in the gym,”_ Jarvis said.

I nodded, pulling myself off the couch and towards the stairs.

.

I took my time walking down to the gym, as I stepped inside I watched as Steve lay lifting weights, several times his own bodyweight and Clint was standing at the punch bag, his hands wrapped as he threw punch after punch.

My eyes drifted back to Steve, admiring as his muscles flexed each time he raised his arms.

“I think you’re drooling,” Clint said, snapping my attention away from Steve. Heat rose to my cheeks and I looked away from Steve who smirked but didn’t falter. I looked over at Clint who like Steve, hadn’t paused his workout.

“I wasn’t drooling, just admiring,” I said, moving to pull myself up to perch on the table where Clint’s jacket and phone was tossed. “What did that bag ever do to you?” I asked, noting the tense lines across his shoulder blades.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said through clenched teeth.

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief and glanced over at Steve who paused, glancing over at us before going back to what he was doing.

“Where’s Natasha?” I asked carefully, my eyes widening in surprise when he threw a particularly hard punch.

“Probably in my apartment,” he grunted.

“Everything okay between you two?” I asked. _Since when did Clint and Natasha have issues? They were always impossibly in sync._

“Leave it Darcy,” he snapped harshly making me flinch. I heard the clink of mettle as Steve put the weight down and sat up.

Clint stopped, steadying the bag with his hand, dropping his head with a sigh before turning round.

“I’m sorry Darce,” he said softly, looking at me apologetically. “I didn’t mean to snap”

“It’s okay,” I said. “Do you wanna try and hit something other than that bag?”

He looked at me sceptically.

“You’re not exactly dressed to spar,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“I can still kick your ass in jeans,” I assured him, toeing my boots off, letting the drop to the floor, I tossed my cell phone and bracelet on the table, making quick work of wrapping my handsbefore hopping off of the table, rolling my shoulders back and stretching as I stepped onto the sparring mats. I rolled my eyes at his hesitation. “C’mon!”

Clint sighed again, rolling his neck before stepping in front of me.

I swung my arm first, he dodged easily, jabbing into my side. I winced, sidestepping, swinging my metal foot round towards his ribs. He caught my foot, twisting it round, knocking me off balance.

I hit the mat, swiping my legs round knocking his knees before standing up.

Clint flipped up to his feet, his face hardened as he focussed.

We sparred for I don’t know how long and I groaned.

“You were right. Sparring in jeans sucks,” I said from where I lay on the mat, where Clint had kicked me down for the tenth time in a row.

“What was that?” he asked, in a teasing, more Clint tone. “Did you just say I was right?” he held out a hand, pulling me off of the floor.

“I said no such thing,” I said.

“Cap, back me up here!” Clint whined.

Steve, who had been sitting ontop of the table, watching us spar, and occasionally calling out tips, chuckled. Wrapping his arm around my shoulders, letting me lean against his side.

“Sorry, I heard no such thing,” he said, kissing the top of my head.

I reached round him, plucking a water bottle off the table, taking a long swig.

“Really Cookie? Can’t you get your own water?” Clint whined as I screwed the lid back on.

“Nope, because that would require me walking all the way over there,” I said, gesturing in the general direction of the door, where a fridge had been built into the wall, filled constantly with bottled water and protein bars.

The doors chose that moment to slide open and Natasha stood in the doorway looking a little worse for wear.

She sunk into Clint’s large purple hoodie she was wearing, her arms were wrapped around her waist and her red hair hung in tangled curls around her shoulders.

Clint’s face softened as he looked at her, taking in her red, slightly puffy eyes and the lack of her confident stance, replaced by her seeming to shrink into herself.

Without a word she slid soundlessly into the room and wrapped her arms around Clint’s waist burring her face on his shoulder. Clint gave half a smile before returning the hug tightly, both of them murmuring in Russia too low for me to catch anything but the odd word.

“… _Not mad?”_

“… _At them, never at you… For shutting me out…” Clint replied._

“ _I’m sorry,”_ My eyes widened in surprise, Natasha never apologised, it was one of her weird rules of life. Clint closed his eyes for a second, looking momentarily pained before pulling back, resting a hand on her cheek.

“ _You’re not allowed to apologise for the things they did,” he_ said, his voice gently.

I reached behind me tugging Steve’s hand, and without a word he slid off the table and we left as Natasha threw her arms around Clint’s.

Everyone needs their moment of weakness, and at the end of the day, even master assassins can need a hug when they let everything out.

**Chapter Twenty-Two  
**

I pirouetted flawlessly in time to the music that blared through the lab.

Jane looked up at me and rolled her eyes, with a fond smile.

“You know, you’re supposed to be working,” she said, moving to the glass board, putting the marker cap between her teeth as she studied the board.

“I am working,” I said, grabbing a pile of papers, spinning round as I put them on a separate pile.

“Natasha!” Jane blurted out in surprise, I spun round to see Natasha leaning against the door frame, a small smile on her lips.

She looked normal, her hair pulled up in an elegant, yet messy bun, a couple of strands falling around her face. Her green eyes shone, but there was still something at the back of them, a sadness, an emptiness.

Nobody but Clint had seen her since the gym. She’d shut herself away on Clint’s floor for several days and restricted access to anyone but him and nobody but him knew why.

“Hey, can I borrow Darcy for a little while?” she asked, making my eyes widen. Jane looked round at me and nodded, a hint of concern on her face.

“Of course,” she said.

I nodded, setting a stack of files on the table before following Natasha out of the lab and into the stair well.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, worry edging into my voice. This was weird even for Natasha.

“Yeah. I just wanted to apologise for the other day in the gym. I wasn’t myself, I’m sorry,” she said.

“It’s okay,” I said hesitantly. “As long as you’re okay,”

“I am,” she nodded. Pushing the door open as we reached Clint’s floor. Instead of going to the apartment like I expected to, she lead me over to one of the other two doors on the wall opposite. She pressed her thumb to the pad and the door unlocked with a click. “I want to tell you a story,” she said, letting the door swing open, letting me step into a large dance studio.

A wooden barre circled around the room, attached to each mirror, on every wall. Across the smooth wooden floor in far corner, sat a large, black grand piano, a pair of pink satin ballet shoes on top, and in the centre of the floor sat two files.

“If you’ll let me. I’d like to tell you my story,” she said.

I looked up at her in surprise for a second before nodding, not knowing what to say.

As far as I knew, not even Steve knew her story.

She moved over to the files, sinking gracefully to the floor next to them, picking them up and toying with the edges.

Hesitantly I moved to sit across from her, after a second she slid them across the floor to me.

I looked down at them.

_S.H.I.E.L.D.  
CLASSIFIED  
PERSONNEL RECORD  
ROMANOFF, NATASHA  
THE BLACK WIDOW_

The first one read, I looked over at the second.

_ КГБ – КРАСНЫЙ ЗАЛ АКАДЕМИИ  
КОНФИДЕНЦИАЛЬНЫЙ  
ПЕРСОНАЛ  
РОМАНОВА, НАТАЛВЯ  
ЧЕРНОЙ ВДОЫ _

It took me a second before I could translate it.

_KGB – RED ROOM ACADEMY  
CONFIDENTIAL  
PERSONNEL  
ROMANOVA, NATALIA  
BLACK WIDOW_

“I don’t remember exactly when, but when I was around five years old I was an orphan. I was taken from an orphanage to Moscow by a man named Ivan Petrovitch. I was taken to the Red Room, which was to be my home for the next several decades.

“I was put into a program with twenty seven other girls, and we weren’t just trained, we were conditioned in _everything._ Our minds were altered, I still don’t really understand how it worked, but while we were trained as Soviet Agents, we were also trained to think we were Ballerinas for the Bolshoi theatre, they inserted artificial memories into our heads. I know that while we never trained in the Bolshoi, we did train in ballet, for discipline, poise, balance, it helps when you fight.

“When we were younger they’d handcuff us to our beds each night, and as we got older, we were taught how to pick a lock, how to escape restraints ten different ways, but I don’t remember a girl ever breaking out of the cuffs at night. It got to the stage that by the time we were fourteen, the ones off us that were left had been conditioned to cuff _ourselves_ to our beds each night, even though we slept with a key within arm’s reach, both in our dorms and when we were on a mission. It was the Red Rooms way of reminding us that we were chained to them, no matter where we were. And after so many years of the same routine, it became a habit. And it took months for Clint to help me break that habit,” My eyes widened as Natasha spoke, she rubbed her bare wrist unconsciously, and for the first time I noticed she had faint white scars from the years of irritated skin.

She reached out turning the first page of the KGB file.

A picture of a dark, dungeon like basement dorm was clipped to the top of the page. Several rows of beds, each with girls sleeping, their hair in two braids and each with a hand raised above their heads, attaching it to the metal bedframe.

“We were taught to fight brutally, only one person ever walked away from a sparring match, if you couldn’t win you were weak, and Mother Russia didn’t need weak girls who lost a fight. I won all of my fights, from when I was nine to nearly eighteen.

“Some things we were taught properly, like etiquette, fighting, killing, dance, the way to do your hair, and makeup. But other things we’d learn from a lab. We’d go into a lab one morning and leave several hours later, fluent in six different languages.

“Other times we’d go into a lab and we were both bio-technologically and psycho-technologically enhanced. Bruce wasn’t the first person to try and recreate Steve’s serum. Russia succeeded.

“We’d get several treatments from when we were sixteen, the final one when we were eighteen, right before graduation. Out of my class, I was the only one to receive the final serum. It was what we all worked for, what the end goal was, to graduate. To go on and serve Mother Russia,”

“By the time I was eighteen, I’d killed most of the 27 other girls, nineteen scientists, four other assets, thirty nine Russian traitors and forty six foreign diplomats. I’d completed my training and I had no idea who I was. I was to graduate within a month, and graduation in the Red Room… It’s not just a serum to make you stronger, faster. There was another part of the ceremony… You had to pass a series of final, physical and mental test, I tried to deliberately fail the tests. I didn’t want to graduate, I didn’t want the ceremony. I don’t know how, but I was fighting their conditioning and they noticed. My punishment was the Red Rooms greatest honour.

“I was the only one to graduate, I don’t remember much, the cold table, girls watching as they wheeled me towards _that_ room, and then pain. When I woke up I was stronger, my senses were heighted and they had sterilized me. Taking away a women’s ability to bear children. Supposedly makes the graduates better killers; we never have to experience the weakness of putting a family above our mission,” Natasha’s eyes were glassy as she lost herself in her horrific past. “It worked. For decades I followed orders without a second thought, no matter what they were, no matter _who_ they were. I earnt my title as the Black Widow.

“Long undercover missions were risky for the Red Room, certain situations could compromise our conditioning. But they thought I was unbreakable. It was a six month undercover operation in Romania, minimum contact with my handlers. This was the first time I started to understand the word freedom. I could buy whatever food I wanted, I could wear whatever clothes I chose… I still had to check in with my handlers, but only twice a month, my apartment wasn’t bugged, it was the best, and most pain free months of my life.

“By the fifth month, I knew the mission was coming to an end and that I would have to go back. A month later I was due to eliminate my target, but in the last six months I’d gotten sloppy, I hadn’t covered my tracks the way I should have done. I eliminated my target, just as clean as ever, but when I went back to my apartment to clear out, I walked through the door and was met with an arrow aimed at my eye socket.

“I knew I was on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar in a bad way, but we were taught that that was a good thing, that the higher up on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s radar you were, the better person you were. The same way you were taught the KGB were the bad guys, and told horror stories about what they did, we were told those about S.H.I.E.L.D., except the stories you were told were true.

“Clint had been sent to kill me, and to this day I don’t know why he didn’t let the arrow fly, I taunted him, I wanted him to kill me… But he didn’t. I could tell that someone was yelling at him through his comm, telling him to take the shot, but he wouldn’t. He made a different call.

“He lowered his bow and gave me a choice. He asked me to come back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and I said yes.

“He took me back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and I didn’t understand what was happening. I was taken to a cell, everything was securely fixed so I couldn’t move anything, but I had a bed, a bathroom, I got food several times a day without a question. I didn’t understand, I was treated better as a prisoner of S.H.I.E.L.D. than I had as an Agent of the Red Room.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me several days to myself, with Clint stopping by with food and company. They gave me time to make my choice. So when I sat across from Coulson or Maria or Fury in the days that followed, I told them everything I knew about the Red Room and the KGB. Given what the Red Room did to my head, I couldn’t tell them much. But it was enough.

“For months S.H.I.E.L.D. gained my trust and vice versa. They helped me break my conditioning, there were no lab experiments, just medical evals. I didn’t leave the Triskalion for six months. One day Maria took me shopping and she was the first female friend I properly had. I didn’t have to compete with her, one of us didn’t have to die, as an Agent her rank was higher than mine, but as a person we are equal.

“I breazed through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s phyc evals and training and I got my badge, and with it I became Natasha Romanoff. Outside of missions I’ve always lived with Clint. He helped break the last of my conditioning, he helped me learn how to deal with the sudden freedom I had. S.H.I.E.L.D. assigned missions but we had the right to decline them. We were treated like people first and assets last. It was new, and it took a while to get used to.

“My first real mission was taking down the Red Room, I watched it burn and that was the day that Natalia died,” Natasha had a faraway look in her eyes as she stared at the floor. “Clint spared me that day, and it changed who I was, and I am grateful. I will forever owe him for that day,”

“No you don’t,” A gentle, but firm voice came from the doorway, startling both me and much to my surprise Natasha. Clint leant against the doorframe, his arms folded as his eyes fixed on his partner. “Can I come in?” he asked, Nat nodded, he gave a small smile and slowly walked in, he stood next to her, his hand resting on her hair and she leant into his touch like a cat. Before he crouched down so they were eye level. “I’ve told you a thousand times before, and I will keep telling you until you believe me. That debt has been paid,” he said.

Tasha sighed, but didn’t say anything, just leant lightly into his touch as he sat down properly next to her.

“I think I understand,” I said softly, causing the pair to look at me. “Why you were so upset the other day. The Red Room took everything from you, and over the years you’ve taken all but one thing back. They sterilized you. They permanently took that choice away from you. Whether you want children or not, they took away your ability to choose and Malia reminded you of that,”

Natasha looked away as Clint seemed to hold her tighter.

“Do you want children?” I asked carefully. Tasha hesitated.

“Not right now. _But_ I would have liked the choice,” she admitted softly, her voice quiet and filled with emotions, that was so heart breaking to hear from someone as guarded and strong as Natasha.

“If you ever decide that the time is right… I would carry for you,” I said confidently. Two heads shot up, looking at me with wide eyes.

“Darcy…” Clint broke off, his voice cracking.

“Do mean that?” Natasha asked, looking up at me, hope evident in her eyes.

I nodded.

“Without a doubt. You deserve that choice. Just like every other person,” I said.

Natasha stared at me with wide eyes for nearly a full minute before she surged forward, throwing her arms around my neck, she buried her face into my shoulder, murmuring in rapt Russian, too fast for me to keep up as my shoulder became damp.

I wrapped my arms tightly around the redhead and looked up at Clint who stared at me in wonder, a soft smile on his lips. He raised his hands signing a simple fraise.

_Thank you._

**Chapter Twenty-Two _  
_**

Over the next few days things in the tower seemed to settle down and go back to normal.

I spoke to Chelsea or Mike every day, Malia was making sure they got very little sleep, but was otherwise perfect.

The Science Bros and Bras seemed to be working overtime on Thor knows what. Which made my job much harder.

“Tony you need to sleep at some point. We spoke about this with Pepper,” I said, handing Tony a plate of leftover pizza.

“I just need to build this,” he said, trying to assemble several plastic tubes.

“Is that… Is that a Potato Gun?” I asked in surprise. That was the last thing I had been expecting him to be building.

“Er yeah. Mark II. I need a favour?” he said, not looking up from his work.

“Whaddya need Bossman?” I asked, a hint of caution in my voice. Tony never asked for favours.

“I need you to find me a Limited Addition Dora The Explorer watch,” he said, I stared at him.

“Erm… Okay?” I said, already reaching for my tablet.

I spent the next hour scrolling through various websites holding up my tablet only for Tony to shake his head and say it was the wrong one.

“This one?” I asked, holding up a picture of the last watch on the page.

“Yes! Yes that one!” He exclaimed, pointing at the screen happily.

“Finally,” I breathed, placing an order. “I just scrolled through 300 Dora the Explorer watches. _300!”_ I stressed. Tony pulled a face but didn’t say anything. “Do I even want to know why you’re ordering a kids watch whilst making a Potato Gun?” I asked.

“They’re for Harley,” he said simply, locking two pieces of plastic together, he inspected it closely then pulled it apart again.

“Harley?” I prompted.

“Keener, Harley Keener and the watch is for his sister. I broke hers. Well, actually I never broke it, I was zip tied to a bed frame and it was annoying the other guy so _he_ broke it…” He paused. _Huh,_ _Kinky._ “That sounded less weird in my head,” he said and I rolled my eyes, discreetly searching through SI for a Harley Keener.

_No Results Found._

I scrunched up my face in confusion and hesitated for a second before pulling up the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.

_Clint and Nat are going to kill me._

It took a minute before a file came up.

Harley Keener lived in Rosehill, Tennessee with his mom and little sister. He spent a lot of time with Tony when he was missing and got kidnapped at one point.

Somebody cleared their throat loudly and I spun round to see Clint leaning against the doorframe with raised eyebrows.

I winced guiltily, quickly erasing my search history.

“Legolas, what can I do for you?” Tony asked.

“I was just wondering why the S.H.I.E.L.D. database was illegally accessed from Darcy’s tablet, _again?” he_ asked, Tony spun round to look down at me.

“How do you do that?” he asked. “Accessing the SI database is easier in this building ‘coz it’s Stark tech and a lot of Stark Industries computers. But S.H.I.E.L.D. devices aren’t allowed in here, so you’ll have to be doing that wirelessly at that is almost impossible given their security,”

“Loving the always!” I said, making his lips twitch at the reference. “It’s not hard,” I shrugged. “I got a degree in Computer Sciences when I was like sixteen without ever having to go to a class. There was a girl at this Internet Café I used to go to in Pennsylvania, she was bouncing between foster homes at the time. She taught me the fun stuff that School never taught me,” I said, with a slight smile. She was awesome.

“Who is this girl? I need to meet her,” Tony declared. I shrugged.

“She never knew her full name. Her foster family called her Mary Sue Potts. But she called herself Skye,” I said. _God knows where she was now. Probably still hacking her way through life. I wonder if she ever bought that van she was planning on living in…_

“However awesome it maybe it’s still illegal, Fury doesn’t seem to care at the minute because you’ve not looked at anything all that important at the minute, but the minute you look at the wrong file, they will arrest you,” Clint warned.

“Lemme guess. No WiFi or Netflix once S.H.I.E.L.D. makes you disappear?” I asked.

“Nope, just a dark cell in the middle of nowhere,” he said ominously. I rolled my eyes, tossing my tablet to the side.

“No more hacking S.H.I.E.L.D.. I got it!” I said holding my hands up in surrender.

Clint gave me a doubtful look.

“Until the next time,” he muttered. “Just be careful at what you look at,” he said and I nodded.

“You got it!”

.

Over the next few weeks things were perfect, Steve and I went on several much more private dates, he took me for a movie and dinner, we went to a climbing centre which was something I hadn’t done in years and was a lot of fun, even if Steve was much better at it than me, a lot of our “dates” we didn’t even need to leave the tower, between the restaurants on the retail floor and showing Steve every good movie there was, we didn’t really need to go far.

Although when we did leave the tower our pictures ended up everywhere, and the stories that went with them were pretty terrible, it wasn’t so bad when we just going out shopping or something, but with visits over to Chelsea’s that was something I didn’t want the world to know.

Tony seemed to be keeping a close eye on the calendar and one day took the jet to Tennessee, and when he came back he looked pretty pleased with himself, and later that night he was video chatting an over excited ten year old boy, which wasn’t as weird as it sounds.

Clint started dragging me down the gym and between him teaching me Archery and Natasha teaching me to throw knives as well as work, when I finally paused for a minute March was already around the corner.

Which meant plans for Clint’s birthday party were well under way.

.

“This is so weird,” Tony commented, wincing at the withering glare he got from Natasha.

“Looking good, Doll,” Steve said as he came to stand behind me as I put the finishing touches on the purple cake.

“Are you sure?” I asked, looking at it critically,

“He’ll love it,” he assured me, pressing his lips to the top of my head. I smiled slightly, setting the icing tube to the side and leaning back into his chest.

“ _Agent Barton has just got back to the tower, and is heading to his apartment to change,”_ Jarvis announced.

“He took his time,” Kate commented, from where she was sitting on the floor, with Lucky, her and Clint’s shared golden Labrador between her legs, her hand wrapped around his purple leash.

“Who is she again?” Tony asked, as I slid off of the bar stool, clearing away the various icing tubes.

“Hawkeye. The _real_ Hawkeye,” Kate said, Natasha smirked slightly rolling her eyes fondly.

“But I thought Barton was ‘the _real_ Hawkeye’?” Tony said, looking down at her in confusion.

“She’s Clint’s protégée,” Tasha supplied, crouching down to stroke Lucky, who whined, leaning further into her touch. Kate scowled at the title but didn’t comment.

“Wait, you’re Derek Bishop’s daughter,” Tony said, clicking his fingers. “I knew I recognised you from somewhere,” Kate’s scowl darkened slightly.

“Are we really going to sit here and talk about our families until Barton gets his ass up here? Because I’m sure we could make a drinking game out of ‘Who has the shittiest family’?” Kate quipped.

“Can we please not go there,” I requested, Steve’s arm tightened around my shoulder. “Every single person in this room either has a very shitty family, or no family at all,”

“I second that,” Kate said, raising her leash wrapped hand.

Tony raised his glass of water in agreement.

“ _Agent Barton is on his way up,”_ Jarvis announced.

The elevator doors slid open and Clint stepped out before pausing, staring at everybody in surprise. His eyes flickered up to the banners that Tony had insisted go up reading:

_Happy Birthday_ _~~Birdbrain~~ _ _Hawkeye!_

Clint looked around, his mouth opening and closing several times, but no sound came out.

Kate grinned, unclipping Lucky’s leash, watching as he barked, bouncing across the room and jumping at Clint who stumbled back a step before crouching down to hug the overexcited dog who was trying to lick his face.

“Heya Lucky! Hey! Good boy!” He cooed, as Lucky rolled over onto his back, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

Tony cleared his throat loudly, drawing Clint’s attention away from the dog. Lucky whined as Clint stood up just in time to catch Kate who threw her arms around his neck.

“Happy Birthday!” She said. “I bought you pizza,” she said, pulling away and gesturing back to the fifty pizza boxes stacked across the counter.

“I knew I let you live in my apartment building for a reason,” Clint said with a grin, reaching out to pull Tasha close. She murmured something to him making him laugh in response.

“Wait a minute,” Tony said, holding up a hand. “You own an apartment building? Where?”

“Brooklyn,” Clint said vaguely, not caring to elaborate.

“You can afford an entire apartment building in Brooklyn?” Steve asked in surprise. Clint just shrugged, reaching for the pizza.

Pizza was eaten and the last four boxes were shoved in the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Jarvis queued Clint’s playlist and we moved towards the “party area” where it became a proper party.

Tony touched nothing alcoholic and Clint drunk nothing stronger than beer,

I took my eighth shot, laughing at Jane’s tipsy cheer.

We watched as Natasha and Clint were getting Clint to do some weird acrobatic archery which he was unsurprisingly good at.

“My turn!” Kate cried, kicking her boots and socks off as Clint dropped out of his handstand.

“No putting arrow holes in my walls,” Tony warned firmly.

“Don’t worry. If Barton can do it, then so can I!” She said, tucking her shirt into her jeans.

Tony rolled his eyes as he leant back against the wall. Kate rubbed her hands together before tipping forward into a handstand on the back of the couch.

“You good?” Clint asked, as she locked her elbows, tilting her body forwards and her legs back, she straightened her left leg and Natasha secured the compound bow between her toes, nocking the arrow, Kate bent her leg further back, hooking the bow string on her toes.

Clint and Natasha both stepped to the side, Natasha ready to catch Kate and Clint ready to catch the bow if she fell.

I stared, transfixed on Kate’s muscle control as she drew back the string, she tipped her head back as she tried to aim, she shifted her toes and released the string.

The arrow flew across the room, embedding itself in the edge of the wooden target that Steve had bought up.

Clint caught the bow as it slipped, making her balance falter and her arms shook.

Tasha reached out, putting a steadying arm on her hand as the younger girl dropped down to her feet.

Kate flipped her hair back, her face slightly red but she had a bright grin on her face.

“That was awesome!” She said, looking over at the target.

“More shots!” Jane cried and Lucky barked either in agreement or annoyance.

Betty who was behind the bar poured out shots of tequila or vodka, I don’t even know, it tasted nice and made me feel good.

One shot turned into two and two turned into five and before long the room was spinning and I wanted to dance.

“How many of those have you had?” Steve asked, coming up behind me as I tipped back another shot.

“Erm… A few?” I hummed, smiling back up at him innocently.

He rolled his eyes but smiled softly.

“You’re going to regret that in the morning,” he warned lightly.

“Hmmm,” I hummed, swaying slightly to the music. “Come dance with me,” I said, tugging on his hand slightly.

“You know I can’t dance Darce,” he said. I pouted, looking up at him, my arms sliding around his neck.

“Please?” I whined.

Steve bit his lip to stop himself grinning.

“Nu uh,” he shook his head.

I bit my lip, leaning up on tip toes I kissed him, our lips moulding together hungrily, one of my hands was in his hair, the other trailing lower down his back.

He pulled back.

“Darcy,” he breathed.

“Dance with me?” I asked, looking up at him with a slight smirk.

“Nope,” he shook his head stubbornly.

I leant forwards again, my lips trailing along his jaw stopping at his ear.

“Dance with me?” I breathed lowly.

Steve swallowed but still shook his head.

I pouted sadly, stepping backwards, I spun round to see Natasha leaning against the bar behind me, watching with a mixture of amusement and something else that my alcohol infused brain couldn’t decipher, as she looked over my shoulder at Steve.

“Tasha, he won’t dance with me,” I moaned petulantly.

“Good,” she said simply. “Because if he did _dance_ with you like this we’d be having words,” she said with a warning tone in her voice.

I scrunched up my face in confusion, not understanding the double meaning in her words.

“Why isn’t he allowed to dance with me?” I asked, stumbling slightly.

“Because drunk people shouldn’t dance,” she replied.

“Urgh,” I groaned, turning away from the two of them.

The night faded into the early hours of the morning and I danced with Jane, Betty, Clint and Kate. The earlier conversation with Steve and Natasha already forgotten.

It was nearing three am when everyone started to disappear back to their own apartments.

“C’mon Doll. Let’s get you home,” Steve said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as I stumbled off of the bar stool.

He steered me towards the elevator and I froze in front of the door.

“Nope, nu uh, nada,” I shook my head.

“Okay, stairs it is then,” Steve said, steering me back towards the stairwell.

It took ten minutes to get down the first floor and Steve sighed.

“Come here,” he said, tucking an arm under my knees, scooping me into his arms.

He carried me through my apartment, dropping me lightly on my bed, making me giggle as I bounced.

I clumsily un laced my boots as Steve disappeared back into my living room.

He reappeared with a tall glass of water in his hands, setting it on the nightstand.

I pushed myself to my feet, much better balanced without the heels.

I stared at Steve, my eyes drifting over where his tight shirt clung to his arms and the material pulled across his chest.

With a boost of confidence surged through me, and I walked across to my closet, pulling my shirt off over my head, tossing it on the floor. Reaching round I unzipped my skirt, letting it drop around my ankles.

I turned back to Steve who’s eyes were firmly fixed on my face.

Stepping towards him, my arms reached around his neck, our mouths meeting in a rough kiss, I fumbled with the bottom of his shirt, pulling away so I could yank it over his head, dropping it to the floor.

I trailed my mouth across his jaw and down the side of his neck. I felt the vibrations of his moan.

“Darce,” he breathed, twisting his head away. I whined carrying on my path across his chest. “Darcy, no!”

He caught my shoulders, pulling me away.

“We can’t do this,” he said, his voice strained.

“It’s okay. I’m okay. I want this,” I said, reaching up to kiss him again, but he caught me.

“No you don’t. You’re drunk,” he said, looking down at me. I frowned.

“Guys don’t care. Guys like it better when I’m drunk,” I said in confusion. Something unfamiliar crossed his face but he shook his head.

“I don’t,” he said, running his thumb across my cheek.

“I don’t understand,” I muttered.

“I know you don’t,” he said softly. "That’s why we can’t do this. Now c’mon,” he pulled open my top drawer that was full of pyjamas, and took one of his shirts that I had stolen and helped me slide it on over my head. “Drink this,” he said, holding the glass of water to my lips, he made me finish the glass before guiding me towards me bed as fatigue started to set in.

“Stay,” I mumbled sleepily.

He nodded, tugging his shirt back on and sliding under the covers next to me.

I curled into his chest and let sleep take over.

**Chapter Twenty-Three  
**

Over the next five months, the tower settled into a routine. I had officially moved in with Steve, as I spent most of my time in his apartment, so we thought why not make it official.

We spoke about what happened at Clint’s birthday, and he patiently helped me work through it. He never once pushed me too far and the second I wanted to stop, we stopped. It took a months to get to a stage where I didn’t want to stop, and we didn’t.

I’d like to officially declare the rumours about Captain America being inexperienced and a prude, are bullshit. _Holy fuck!_ That man knew what he was doing, and he was fucking good at it!

I should have known it wouldn’t last, that things wouldn’t stay perfect forever, because one phone call from Erik and everything went to hell.

We got the first plane to Heathrow and ended up setting up base at Jane’s Mom’s place just outside of the city.

It was nearing the end of our second week in London and I took the stairs up to the apartment, flat, whatever, my new intern – who hadn’t stopped trying to look down my shirt since I picked him up – trailing behind me.

“So, Jane is totally harmless, until you get in the way of her science,” I explained. “After Thor left, for the first time, she was deadly. Then New York happened and she calmed down a bit and focussed on something other than Asgard. But now with whatever we’re even here for, she’s trying to pretend she’s not interested, but really she is, so just don’t mention it unless she brings it up.”

He looked slightly dazed but nodded along as I unlocked the door, stepping inside the cluttered room.

“Janey I’m back! Come meet my Intern!” I called out, only to be met with silence.

“My names Ian,” he said. I waved my hand for him to be quiet as I stuck my head into the bedroom.

Scrunching up my face in confusion at the empty apartment.

_Where was she?_

“I think this is for you,” Ian said, holding up a blue post it note, I leant over the table, snatching it out of his hand.

_Gone on a date. Don’t disturb me unless the worlds ending, and I mean actually ending, not Tony’s definition of ending!  
Jane_

I rolled my eyes, tossing it back on the table and sighed.

“Now what?” Ian asked, but before I could open my mouth to reply, something started making a shrill beeping noise. My head whipped round in confusion. My eyes scanning across the different machines, trying to find the source of the noise.

Finally my eyes found the offending piece of machinery.

It was one of the pieces Jane made with Tony, aka one of the few pieces of tech that wasn’t held together with duct tape.

I snatched it off the table, my eyes widening at the erratic readings.

“What the fuck…?” I trailed off, hitting it against my hand, and when that did nothing I hit it against the table, which did nothing to alter the readings.

“What is it?” Ian asked, as I hit it again, this time harder. “Do you know what you’re doing with that?”

I stopped whacking it against the table to glare at him. _Dude! I’ve been doing this for years!_

“Nothing good. It’s malfunctioning,” I said. Reaching for my laptop, making short work of the S.H.I.E.L.D. firewalls and running a trace for Jane’s phone. “We came here a couple of weeks ago because our friend, Erik, called us, rambling about some weird readings he was getting in London and about the end of the world. But he went crazy after what happened to him in New York last year, so Jane and I came here just to reassure him. It wasn’t supposed to be anything real, but this says otherwise,” I explained as the computer got a lock on Jane’s location.

_Gods, I miss Jarvis!_

“Let’s go,” I said, grabbing my bag, shutting down my laptop.

I shoved the machine in my bag and practically ran out of the apartment, only pausing to lock the door.

I took the stairs two at a time and went straight for the car.

“Where are we going?” Ian asked, jumping in the passenger’s seat, holding tightly to the door handle as I hit the accelerator.

“To get Jane,” I said, biting my lip as I cut through the traffic, debating whether or not to call Steve or the tower.

I shook my head, we’d see what it was first.

I took a sharp left turn before pulling over at the side of the road.

“Get in the back and wait here,” I instructed, not waiting for a reply, I was already out of the car, following the map on my phone to a fancy looking restaurant.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” the waitress at the door asked with a smile.

“Erm, I’m looking for my friend… Wait she’s over there its fine, thank you,” I said, darting around her, towards Jane who was sitting awkwardly opposite a cute-ish looking guy.

I walked over.

“Hi. Um… could we get some wine please?” the guy said looking up at me. I stared at him.

_I’m wearing a knitted coat and a beanie. Do I seriously look like a waitress?_

“Sure, I’d love some,” I quipped and Jane’s head snapped up at me in a mixture of alarm and surprise. “He’s cute,” I mouthed at her, giving a not so subtle thumbs up.

“Richard, this is Darcy,” she said, with an embarrassed laugh. “What are you doing here?”

I paid little attention, reaching for a chair at the next table, dragging it to sit next to her.

“Oh hello,” the cute guy, Richard, said, as I reached for a really nice looking slice of bread, suddenly remembered I had yet to eat lunch, I started buttering it.

“So, I show up to work at the lab-slash-your mom’s house, fully expecting you to be moping around in yesterday’s clothes, not having eaten, rambling about Thor knows what. But you’re not! You’re wearing lady clothes, you even showered without being prompted, didn’t you?” I said, smelling her raspberry shampoo. “You smell good.”

“Is there a point to all this?” she asked. “Because there _really_ has to be a point to all this.”

“Right, you know that scientific equipment you don’t look at anymore? The ones relating to _you-know-what?”_ I said, getting back on point as I handed her the machine. “You might wanna start looking at it now. This is the reason we came all the way out here.”

Jane looked down at it in confusion. “It’s malfunctioning,” she said.

I rolled my eyes. “That’s what I said.” Watching as she started hitting it on the table. “That’s what I did! But you just hit a little more scientific.” Jane stared at it for a second, a wistfully look in her eyes before she snapped out of it, shoving the tech back into my hands.

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said.

“Yeah.” Richard nodded. I ignored him.

“It doesn’t look like nothing. Kind of looks like the readings that Erik was rambling about,” I said, turning to Richard. “Our friend Erik, kind of went banana-balls.”

“He’s not interested,” Jane said shoving me away. “Time for you to go now.”

“ _O_ kay,” I said with a smile, standing up to put my chair back, I hesitated, reaching back to take another slice of bread before disappearing back out of the restaurant, a satisfied smile on my lips.

I walked back to the car, sliding into the driver’s seat.

“Where is she?” Ian asked, I just grinned, still shoving bread in my mouth.

“Five… Four... Three… Two…” The car door was yanked open. “One,” I said, as she dropped into the passenger seat with a sigh.

“And I hate you,” she said.

“What?! I said he was cute,” I said, shoving the last of the bread in my mouth, brushing my hands on my jeans.

“Just shut up and drive,” she said with a slight smile and I laughed, starting the car, pulling away.

“You need to take the next right,” Ian said, leaning between the two front seats, Jane startled with a slight cry.

“Who’s he?” she asked, looking to me in alarm, as if I didn’t know he was there.

“He’s my intern,” I said simply, taking a right.

“You have an intern?” she asked, looking over at me sceptically.

“Oh, yeah, I did tell you.”

“Hello, Doctor Foster. It’s uh… It’s a great honour to be working with you,” he said.

“Right.” Jane nodded awkwardly. “I have to call Erik,” she said, digging her phone out of her pocket.

“Oh, uh… take a right,” Ian said, I sighed, taking a sharp turn. “Left!” He cried and I yanked the car the opposite way down a narrow road.

“I have totally mastered driving in London,” I said, grinning at Jane’s scoff.

“Hi, Erik, it’s me again. Where are you? I came here because you said you were onto something and then vanished. Call me back?” she hung up with a worried sigh.

I pulled up outside an old abandoned looking factory and we climbed out of the car.

“Come on, this is exciting!” I said brightly, trying to cheer her up. “Look, the intern is excited.”

“Ian,” he corrected, and I ignored him.

_Treat me with some respect and stop staring at my boobs and maybe I’ll make an effort to remember your name!_

“Do you want the phase meter?” I asked.

“No,” Jane said but nodded. _Make up your mind!_

“Bring the phase meter,” I said, tossing Ian the car keys. “The toaster looking thing,” I added, remembering his earlier comment.

“I know what the phase meter is,” he grumbled.

Paying him little attention as I dialled Jane’s number as she drifted towards the warehouse, I snickered at the annoying tune Clint set as her ringtone during our last prank war.

“How do I change the ring tone on this thing?” she asked before accepting the call without looking at the caller ID.

“An Astrophysicist with three degrees should be able to change her own ring tone,” I said into the phone and she spun round to look at me in confusion.

“ _Why are you calling me?” she_ asked.

“I didn’t want to shout.” I shrugged, glancing back at Ian who was carrying the phase meter. “Intern, the entrance is this way,” I said, veering off to the left.

“Ian,” he said. “My name is Ian!”

I cut the call as we walked into the warehouse.

My heart lurched at a loud crash somewhere behind us that seemed to echo around the empty building. Spinning around, my hand automatically went to my pocket, my fingers curling around my taser.

“I’m not getting stabbed in the name of science,” I hissed, before yelling out. “It’s okay, we’re Americans!”

“Is that supposed to make them like us?” she asked.

“They’ll make it go away…” A young girl’s voice muttered.

“Ssh!” Another kid hissed as three young kids, no older than twelve came out from their hiding places.

“Oh, they’re kids,” Jane sighed.

“Are you the police?” The only girl asked, stepping in front of the older looking boys.

“No, we’re scientists,” Jane said. “Well, I am.”

“Oh, thanks,” I muttered. _After everything I do for you in the labs…_

“We just found it,” the boy with the light brown skin said.

“Can you show us?” Jane asked. He nodded, and they turned leading us through the warehouse to a large abandoned truck.

The other, older looking boy, his brown skin darker than his friends, stepped forwards, putting just two fingers under the edge of the bumper.

My eyes widened, watching in amazement as the truck lifted weightlessly off the ground, rolling in mid-air.

“This way,” the girl said, leading us up several flights of stairs.

The younger boy ran up a floor higher, leaning over the rail holding out a bottle. He dropped it down and my eyes widened as it disappeared into thin air.

“Where did it go?” I asked. The girl pointed upwards, I looked up and sure enough a second later the bottle reappeared, dropping down and disappearing in the same spot again. “That’s incredible,” I breathed, watching the cycle a couple more times before the older boy snatched the bottle out of the air.

Jane crabbed an empty can and dropped it down.

Sure enough, it disappeared into thin air, I looked up expectantly, but nothing happened.

“What happened?” she asked with a disappointed pout.

“Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don’t,” the girl shrugged.

“I want to throw something,” I said, looking around in excitement, only to find nothing left on the floor. “Jane, give me your shoe.” She wasn’t listening and had gone back to her tech.

“I haven’t seen readings like this since…” She trailed off in realisation.

“New Mexico?” I asked smugly. Jane gave me a pointed look, before smiling slightly, running off into the warehouse.

“Don’t touch anything,” she yelled over her shoulder and I laughed slightly before turning to Ian. “Give me your shoe.”

Ian stared at me for a second before handing me a pen instead.

I shrugged, dropping it over the rail, grinning in delight as it disappeared and then reappeared.

He laughed slightly, dropping something over, frowning as it didn’t reappear.

“Were those the car keys?” I asked slowly, Ian hesitated before nodding slightly. “Great,” I snapped at him, before turning back to the kids with a softer expression. “I’m Darcy by the way.”

“I’m Maddie,” the girl said. “That’s Navid and Shakur,”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.

I mucked around with the kids for a while before looking down at my watch.

“Jane’s been gone nearly an hour and a half. How big is this place?” I asked.

“Just this warehouse,” Shakur said offhandedly. “It’s not that big, definitely not big enough to get lost.”

Dread pooled in the pit of my stomach at his words.

“All of you stay _right_ here. Do _not_ move!” I said firmly, pulling my taser out of my pocket and walking out the same way Jane left. “Jane?” I called. “Jane? Where are you?”

I searched the warehouse twice.

Dialling her phone several times.

“ _Hi, this is Jane, I’m not here right now. Leave a message and I’ll get in touch.”_

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” I muttered, cutting her voicemail off for the ninth time.

I ran back to the stairwell where the kids were still with Ian, all looking slightly concerned.

“I can’t find her,” I said. I bit my lip, staring at the stairwell. I sighed, dialling Steve’s number.

“ _This is Steve Rogers, leave a message and I’ll call you back.”_

I groaned.

“ _It’s Clint, leave a number and I might call you back, who knows!”_

“C’mon, c’mon,” I muttered.

“ _This is Natasha, leave a number and I’ll call you back.”_

“ _You’ve reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Leave a message and I probably won’t get back to you.”_

I hung up, biting my lip.

_Breathe. It’s gonna be fine._

I tugged on my hair in desperation before calling the tower.

“ _Good evening. You’ve reached Stark Industries at the Avengers Tower—”_

“Security override 692-481,” I cut the receptionist off. “Put me through.”

“ _Right away Miss Lewis,”_ she said. There was a beep.

“ _Good evening Miss Lewis,”_ Jarvis said and I sighed in relief.

“Jarvis, thank god! Who’s in the tower?” I asked.

“ _I’m afraid nobody is currently in the residential floors. The Avengers are all on a mission and Miss Potts and Doctor Ross are in Miami,”_ he said.

“Fuck,” I said, my breath catching in my throat and I clutched the railing.

“ _Miss Lewis, are you okay?”_ he asked.

“I can’t – I can’t breathe,” I said, the words sticking in my throat.

“ _Might I suggest that you’re try one of the exercises Agent Romanoff makes you use? Count to ten in Russian then German then add a language if needed,”_ Jarvis said.

I clenched my eyes closed.

“Один… Два… Три… Четыре… Пять… Шесть… Семь… Восемь… Девять… Десять.” I took a deep breath.

“ _Good. And in German?”_ Jarvis prompted.

“Eins… Z – zwei… drei… vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, nein, zehn.” I took another deep breath, forcing myself to focus back on the situation. “Okay, okay… Do you have contact to Maria?” I asked, my mind reeling for who else to call.

“ _I’m afraid Agent Hill is currently off grid,”_ Jarvis said regretfully.

“Shit,” I muttered. _So much for emergency contacts!_ “The minute any of them are available, get them to call me. It’s an emergency!” I said, not waiting for a reply before hanging up.

I turned back to Ian and the kids who were all looking at me expectantly.

“Okay,” I sighed, tugging at my hair. _Focus!_ “I’m calling the police,” I decided, Jane is going to kill me, but I’d rather she killed me than she was missing forever.

“ _999, what is your emergency?”_ The operator asked.

“My name is Darcy Lewis, I need you to trace my phone and send help. My friend, Doctor Jane Foster, has gone missing,” I said.

“ _Okay, Ma’am. I’m tracing your phone now.”_ There were several beeps in the background. _“We’re sending officers to your location now.”_

“Thank you,” I said, cutting the call, sliding my phone back into my pocket. I looked back over at the kids.

“You guys should get home. Things around here are about to get crazy,” I said.

“I know you,” Maddie said, staring at me. “You’re the Darcy Lewis from New York. You’re friends with the Avengers,” she said and I nodded. “Are the Avengers coming?” I crouched down, reaching out to hold her hand.

“Not yet,” I said. “I don’t know what’s happening yet. So I need you guys to get home, just so I know you’re safe if something bad happens, okay?” I looked between the three of them, they all nodded. “Good, now go!”

The three kids sprinted down the stairs and I turned to Ian.

“You should go too,” I said, he shrugged but didn’t move.

I grabbed the rest of Jane’s/S.H.I.E.L.D.’s tech, taking it back down to shut securely in the car.

I leant back against the hood, my head pressed into my hands and waited.

Half an hour later the cops showed up, it had nearly been five hours… The cops didn’t believe or didn’t understand a word I was saying, and I’m pretty sure they were planning on arresting me.

“Darcy, look!” I looked up at Ian’s voice, following where he was pointing to see a very confused and a very angry Jane run out of the warehouse, thunder crashing overhead

“Jane!” I cried, running towards her. “Where the hell were you?” I asked, relief washing through me.

“Tell me you didn’t call the police!” she yelled and I flinched back slightly.

“What was I supposed to do?” I asked.

“Not call the police!” she snapped.

“I was freaking out,” I said defensively.

“You call the cops they tell the feds, next thing you know we have S.H.I.E.L.D. crawling all over area fifty-one and wanting the place,” she yelled.

“Jane!” I protested.

“We had a stable gravitational anomaly, we had unheeded access. Our only competition was ten years old,” She ranted.

“Jane, you were gone for five yours!” I yelled over her. Her eyes widened and her face softened before she pulled me into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

Thunder cracked loudly and I pulled away, for the first time noticing the rain hammering down, soaking everything except a large circle around us that stayed perfectly, magically dry.

“That’s weird,” I commented. Jane looked round, freezing as she stared across the courtyard, I stepped around her and I couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Thor standing there, hammer in hand, his cloak billowing around him.

Jane shoved the computer into my hand and walked towards him, the invisible barrier holding back the rain seemed to move with her. The cold rain suddenly dropping down on my head, making my gasp in surprise and cold.

“Typical,” I muttered, pulling my coat over my head.

I watched as Jane stopped in front of him, before suddenly slapping him across the face and I winced.

He seemed to say something before she slapped him again.

I could tell she was ranting from here, Thor said something and her shoulders slackened, I watched as he cupped the side of her head.

“Hey!” I stepped forward, stopping them before anything happened. “Is this you?” I asked, stepping into the rain free bubble.

Thor looked up, as if for the first time noticing it was raining and it stopped instantly.

I sighed, dropping my coat back on to my shoulders properly.

“We’re kinda in the middle of something,” Jane said. I smirked, waggling my eyebrows at her, causing her to blush.

“Um… I’m pretty sure we are getting arrested,” I said, gesturing to the angry cops behind us.

She sighed, looking back at Thor. “Hold that thought,” she said before running towards the cops.

I looked up at Thor, as massive as he was, for some reason he didn’t terrify me, and I don’t know why.

“Look at you,” I said, poking his metal armour teasingly. “Still all muscly and everything. How’s space?”

“Space is fine,” Thor said, looking down at me with an assessing gaze. “Are you well Lady Darcy?” I hesitated, remembering the conversation we had in New Mexico, all those years ago and I shrugged.

“I’m better,” I said, he smiled encouragingly. Opening his mouth to say something but a bright red force seemed to shoot out around Jane, throwing everything everywhere, smashing the windows of the cars.

I screamed, ducking into Thor’s arms as he, curled himself over me protectively.

He glanced down at me to make sure I was okay before running towards Jane who was laying on the floor unconscious.

Thor knelt next to her, carefully helping her to her feet.

_What the fuck…_

The cop pulled himself to his feet, his baton raised as I rushed forward.

“Place your hands on your head, step back!” he yelled, fear in his voice.

“This woman is unwell,” Thor said.

“She’s dangerous,” the cop spat.

Thor looked up, glaring darkly at them.

“So am I!” He said, his voice low, pulling Jane closer to him. He glanced over at me and I inclined my head in a slight nod.

_Look after her._

Thor gave a slight nod before looking up at the sky, the burning light of the bifrost encased them, pulling them up.

The officers and Ian all fell backwards in alarm but I walked forward, stepping onto the scorched tarmac, looking up at the fading light.

“Holy shit!” I exclaimed with a grin. _That was never going to get old!_

**Chapter Twenty-Four  
**

I looked around, noting that the bifrost had taken the front of the car with it. The cops were running around madly so I stepped back, snapping a quick picture of the markings on the floor before slipping round, and grabbing the tech out of the trunk of the car.

Pulling Ian towards the road before the cops could notice we were gone.

“What just happened?” he asked, as I shoved the tech in his arms, hailing a cab.

“I have no idea. But Jane is safe and that’s all that matters,” I said.

“But that was Thor!” he exclaimed glancing back towards the warehouses.

“Yup. He took Jane to presumably Asgard, he’ll help her with whatever just happened,” I assured him, hailing a cab.

I climbed into the backseat, rattling the apartments address to the driver.

Thankfully the drive back to the apartment didn’t take that long and Ian and I carried the stuff up to the apartment, dropping it all on a table.

I told Ian to put on the news and look out for any sign of anything weird and while he was doing that, I tossed my wet coat over a chair, pacing backwards and forwards across the room with my phone pressed to my ear.

“Hey Steve,” I said. “Okay, basically, Jane’s been possessed by some red explodey thing, but she’s fine, I think, I hope. Thor came back, then took Jane away after some cops attacked her. I’m in the apartment, cops are probably on their way and I can’t get hold of anybody. Also, we cannot find Erik _anywhere._ Call me back when you get a chance?”

I hung up, automatically dialling Clint, not surprised when that went through to answerphone too.

“Okay, first, you’re not allowed to be mad because I tried to call you when things were just weird and not bat shit crazy. So, that’s your fault. Thor’s back, he took Jane who is possessed by some weird explodey thing and they’ve gone to presumably Asgard. I’m pretty sure everything’s about to go to hell, so I’d appreciate some back up, because these science machines are going crazy and I have no idea what half of them mean,”Isaid desperately.

Next on my list was the emergency number Coulson had given me in New Mexico.

“ _This number has been disconnected. This number has been –”_

“Erik isn’t calling me back. Stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t calling me back!” I groaned in frustration.

“What’s S.H.I.E.L.D?” Ian asked, not looking up from the TV.

“It’s a secret,” I snapped, before leaving Erik another message. “Hey, Erik. It’s Darcy _again._ Uh… Thor came back, he took Jane to Asgard and I’m not sure what to do…”

“Darcy, you really need to look at this. Your friend Erik, what was his last name again?”

I looked round, my eyes widening at the news story.

“Aw, shit!” I said, cutting the call.

Ian paused the program on a picture of Erik running round Stonehenge; naked.

I took a deep, focussing, breath, dialling the number on the screen.

“ _Good afternoon, this is the hotline regarding information on Doctor Erik Selvig. How may I help you?”_

“My name’s Darcy… Selvig? I’m Doctor Selvigs daughter-in-law. I’ve just seen the news. We’ve been so worried, I haven’t been able to get hold of him for days,” I said.

“ _Just one moment Mrs Selvig. Let me just transfer you to my supervisor.”_

There was a couple of beeps.

“ _Yes?”_

“Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me where my father in law, Doctor Erik Selvig was taken to after he was arrested this morning?” I asked.

“ _And you are?”_

“Darcy Selvig. His sons wife,” I lied, looking at Ian’s startled expression and shrugged.

The guy at the other end of the phone gave me an address that I typed straight into google maps, and I cut the call before he could keep rambling about ID.

“I’m so going to get arrested…” I muttered, making myself a new fake ID. “Intern, I need an ID photo, stand there,” I said, pulling him to stand in front of the white wall.

I grabbed my cell phone. Thanking Thor for Stark’s ultra HD photo’s, snapping a passport like photo and uploading it straight onto the ID.

I watched the two cards print. Drumming my fingers on the table as I chewed on my pen.

“Here, take this,” I said, handing one of the cards to Ian. “You’re going to pretend to be Erik’s son, married to me, so we can get him out of there. Understood?”

Ian hesitated before nodding, sliding the drivers licence into his wallet.

“When they ask you a question, answer simply, or let me answer it. And when you’re with Erik. _Do not_ under any circumstances mention Loki or New York. They are not good memories for him,” I said, shoving my laptop in my bag, just in case.

It took nearly an hour and a half to reach the Psychiatric Hospital, and I leant on the desk, smiling at the guy at the computer.

“Hi, we’re here to pick up Doctor Erik Selvig,” I said. “This is his son Ian and I’m his daughter-in-law, Darcy.”

“Can I see some ID please?” he asked, we both handed over the ID’s and I watched as he studied them.

He nodded after a minute, handing them back to us as he picked up his phone.

“Erik Selvig is being discharged, bring him down please.” He put the phone back down. “He’s on his way. You’ll have to sign for your father’s belongings, Mr Selvig.” I nudged Ian who wasn’t paying attention.

“What? Oh, yeah. My father, Doctor Erik Selvig,” he babbled. I rolled my eyes, digging my heel into his toes, making him reach for the forms.

“One man’s leather wallet, brown. One key ring with three keys. Prescription medicine.” He placed a large bag, containing several pill bottles on the counter. “Various.” He kept placing more items on the counter but my attention drifted to Erik as he was lead towards us.

“Erik,” I called, waving.

“Yes?” he looked up at me, a blank expression on his face, as he came to stand in front of me.

“It’s uh… Darcy,” I said, slightly unsure if this was going to work or not.

“Darcy!” Erik’s face lit up in realisation, pulling me against him in a tight hug, making me tense. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Uh… I missed you too,” I said, trying to pull myself out of his arms.

“How did you find me?” Erik asked.

“You were naked on TV,” Ian replied, joining us.

“Okay, time to go. Lot’s to do,” I said, though Erik still wouldn’t let go. “Getting weird now,” I muttered, pulling his arms off of me. “I should not be left in charge of stuff like this, I don’t get paid enough. Stark and his crap I can deal with, even he’s not _this_ bad,” I ranted as we walked out of the door.

“I’m uh…I’m Ian by the way. Uh… Darcy’s intern. I don’t get paid at all,” he said, watching as Erik took a handful of pills. “Are you alright?”

“I have had a God in my brain. I don’t recommend it,” Erik said and I winced.

_This could have been Clint…_

The machines in Ian’s arms started to beep rapidly.

“Doctor Selvig, your gear is beeping at me,” Ian said, sounding slightly alarmed.

“It’s happening, sooner than I calculated,” Erik said, his excitement growing.

“Wait, what’s happening?” I asked, but Erik was watching a flock of birds circling around in unison before disappearing like the bottles earlier. “Birds are happening?”

“They’re starlings, it’s called a murmuration,” Ian supplied.

“Where’d they go?” I asked, as soon as the words left my mouth it was like they flew up out of the pavement. I screamed, throwing my arms over my head as they flew around me. “What the hell was that?” I asked in alarm, glaring at Erik’s smiling.

“There’s nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are,” Erik said, tossing the bag of medication in a trash can. “Take me to Jane’s lab!”

We got back to the apartment and the first thing I did was order several pizza’s, Erik scratched his head, looking over the calculations, before unbuckling his pants.

“Um… Erik… What are you doing,” I asked as he kicked his shoes off and pulled his pants off, thankfully he was wearing underpants.

“It helps me to think,” he said, I bit my lip and nodded.

I scanned through my phone, looking for any mention of Thor or the Avengers, only to come up with nothing.

I carried on scrolling looking for _anything_ until the pizza guy knocked on the door, and I billed Tony.

I watched Erik work, it was strange, but it was sad.

What Loki did to him and Clint, effected them differently.

Clint was helped quicker. Clint got the proper help he needed afterwards. Erik hadn’t and it had driven him to this…

The three of us worked in unison for several hours, and I kept sidestepping Ian, who kept leering closer towards me, making suggestive and sexist comments until the door banged open, and Jane strode in wearing a long blue, silk dress with silver armour across her chest.

“Jane!” I exclaimed in surprise. “The whole world is going crazy! All the stuff we saw is spreading,” I paused, looking between her dishevelled state and Thor, hanging Mew-mew on a coat hook. “Did you go to a party?”

“Erik?!” Jane gasped, looking at Erik in a mixture of concern and surprise.

“Jane, how wonderful!” He leapt from his chair hugging her tightly. “You’ve been to Asgard.”

“Where are your pants?” she asked in concern.

“He says it helps him think,” Ian supplied.

“Okay…” Jane said before nodded. “Well, I’m gonna need everything you got on this. All the work you’ve been doing on gravimetric anomalies, everything.”

“Okay,” Erik nodded.

“I’m going to change,” she said, walking towards the bedroom.

“Are you well Erik?” Thor asked, looking at his dishevelled state in concern.

Erik chuckles slightly and nods before his smile fades. “Your brother is not coming, is he?” he asked.

Thor looked like Erik had just kicked him. “Loki is dead,” he said sadly.

“Oh, thank god,” Erik sighed. Thor looked up at him with a slight glare and Erik caught himself. “I’m so sorry,” he added, not sounding very sort at all.

“Thank you,” Thor nodded right before Erik hugged him briefly before rushing back to work.

Jane came back and she and Erik were bouncing ideas backwards and forwards, I took a moment to slide towards Thor.

Reaching up to gently wrap my arms around his neck.

“Darcy?” he said softly in surprise.

“I’m sorry, about Loki. I lost my brother too,” I said too quiet for anyone else to hear.

Thor sighed, wrapping his arms around me, in a gentle, but secure bear hug, and it felt like the safest place on the planet.

“If you need anything. Just ask,” I said, letting him pull away. He ducked his head slightly but managed a small smile.

“Thank you, Lady Darcy,” he said softly, I smiled slightly in return.

We spent all night talking about various scenarios that could possible happen and sure enough we went to Greenwich the next day, and everything went to shit.

A massive spaceship appeared in thin air, heading straight towards us, straight towards a College full of people.

And with the massive spaceship, of course, came hundreds of evil looking Dark Elves, who could knock Thor on his ass.

I ran across the campus, Dark Elves behind me, mentally thanking Natasha and Clint for all of the times they’d shoved me onto a treadmill.

A couple of F-22’s that might have been S.H.I.E.L.D.’s were flying round the ship, but disappeared into thin air before they could fire.

“Get down!” I screamed, shoving Ian behind a car as a group of Dark Elves shot Star Wars like laser beams towards us.

I stared in shock as a massive sabre-toothed yeti appeared in the middle of the street.

I pulled myself to my feet and froze, five Dark Elves were less than two feet in front of me.

The car that Ian was hiding behind suddenly lifted up, turning over in the air and slammed down on top of the Elves.

“You alright?” Ian asked, tossing the bumper to the side.

“You saved my life,” I breathed.

“Yeah, I guess I did,” he said.

I reached up to hug him, but he grabbed my waist, his fingers digging into my skin and he kissed me.

_No. No. No. No._

I tried to pull away, but he just wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer.

A bright blue light surrounded us and the next moment we were stood across the campus, but Ian hadn’t seemed to notice and was still attacking my face.

I gave up trying to push him away, and just stood there.

“Darcy?!” Ian jumped away at the sound of Jane’s voice.

“Jane!” I cried in relief.

“Ian?” Erik said, looking down at where Ian had fallen on the floor.

“Selvig!” Ian said with an idiotic grin that I would have punched off of his face had Thor’s hammer not chosen that moment to fly above our heads.

“Mew-Mew!” I cried.

Without thinking about it I ran back towards the main campus, after the hammer.

Ducking behind a pillar as we stared up at the large holes in the sky.

They looked a little bit like the wormhole in New York.

Red smoke rose up from the ship, twisting in mid-air and disappearing into the darkness.

I watched as Thor took the spikes from Erik, before running straight into the eye of the storm.

The smoke cleared as something seemed to explode and Thor was thrown backwards through the air.

Jane ran forwards, trying to pull him out of the way as the spaceship tilted, starting to drop towards them.

“Jane!” I screamed in warning as it fell.

Ian grabbed hold of my shoulders, stopping me from running towards them.

“Get off of me,” I yelled, but he held me in place and I stood helplessly watching as Jane threw herself over Thor’s chest, as if she could protect him from being crushed.

Blue light shot out from the ship, disappearing just two feet above them.

I sighed in relief. _They were okay!_

“Everybody okay?” Erik called out, a bright, sane looking grin on his face as he dropped the machine.

The F-22’s reappeared, circling above us and I grinned.

_It was over!_

Ian spun me around, slamming his lips against mine again but this time I managed to push him away. Wiping my mouth on the back of my sleeve, trying not to think about Steve as guilt pooled in my stomach.

“Stop doing that!” I cried, tears burning my eyes as I turned to walk back towards Thor and Jane, who were pulling themselves to their feet.

Jane looked round at my tear stricken face and threw her arms around my neck.

I felt a large hand on my back and I relaxed into them, melting into the safety that they bought.

_We’re safe._

**Chapter Twenty-Five  
**

We went back to the apartment and I collapsed on the couch, wiggling my phone out of my pocket, exhaustion setting in.

I looked down at my phone.

_19 Missed Calls._

_-Maria Hill (4)  
-Clint (6)  
-Steve (9)_

I scrolled through my messages.

_From Steve:  
-I was on a mission, is everything okay?  
-Darcy what’s going on?  
-Are you okay?  
-We’re on the way back to the tower. We can’t get to London in time?  
-Let me know you’re okay, please?_

_From Clint:  
-What is going on??  
-Thor’s back??  
-There are aliens in London?? Not werewolves, aliens??!!!  
-Darcy call me or Steve or someone!  
-Steve’s very worried.  
-We’re on our way back to the tower, then we’re coming to London._

_From Nat:  
-Let us know you’re safe asap. _

I sighed with a slight smile.

_To Steve, Clint & Natasha:   
Everything’s fine guys! Thor’s back and the Dark Elves are gone, it’s safe._

Jane and Thor spent the rest of the day curled up on the couch together while I did everything I could to dodge Ian.

The sun started to set and Thor declared he had to go.

“It will only be for a short time. I swear I will return,” he said, Jane frowned but nodded, clearly disappointed.

Thor cupped the side of her face, kissing her softly.

“I will return,” he promised, she grinned and nodded.

I reached up. Hugging him tightly.

“Hurry back,” I said softly. He hugged me tighter for a moment before setting me down on my feet.

We stepped back inside watching as the bifrost surrounded him and then, he was gone.

Janes shoulders dropped.

“I’m going to bed,” she declared, and without another word she disappeared into our room.

“Me too,” I said, going after her.

Now that Erik was back he was taking my room and Jane and I were sharing a bed for a couple of days.

We changed in silence, climbing into bed I waited. After a minute she sniffled.

I reached out wrapping my arms around her, letting her curl into my side as she cried.

I didn’t say anything, there was nothing I _could_ say, I just held her as she cried.

.

I hardly slept that night, Jane cried herself to sleep and I stared up at the ceiling for several more hours before sleep took over, only for the nightmares to come.

I shot upright in a cold sweat, looking around the room in panic.

It was still dark outside and Jane was still sleeping soundlessly besides me.

I carefully slid out of bed, reaching for my phone.

_From: Clint.  
We’re coming to pick you up tomorrow._

_From: Steve.  
Clint’s gonna come and get you. Stark and I have been called out again. I’ll see you when you get back._

I sighed in disappointment but shot both of them a simple reply.

At least I’d be out of here soon.

I grabbed my laptop and settled in the armchair in the corner of the room, aimlessly killing time by breaking down various firewalls and testing the neighbours WiFi.

Jane stirred as the sun started to crack through the windows, and I watched as she blinked open her eyes before frowning. Remembering that Thor had left.

“No wallowing,” I said, closing my laptop with a snap, setting it down on the floor. I walked over to the bed, practically dragging her out of it, ignoring her protests. “Nope, go shower, and I will make breakfast,” I said, shoving her into the ensuite. “And if you’re longer than half an hour I will come and drag you out,” I warned. She just slammed the door in response.

I moved through into the kitchen, starting the coffee machine and rummaging through the cabinets, not caring if I woke Ian, who was for some reason sleeping on the couch.

I laid out the table with one hand, a mug of hot coffee in the other.

Erik and Ian materialised, Erik helping himself to coffee and Ian to tea.

Jane appeared twenty minutes later, looking much more human than before. She dropped into a chair, and I set a mug of coffee in front of her as she stabbed at her bowl of cereal.

“He’s gonna come back,” I assured her. “Except, you know, last time he was gone for like two years.”

“Well, it’s only been a day, so…” Jane trailed off, not really sure if she believed he was coming back or not.

“Did he say anything before he left?” Erik asked.

“Yeah, he had to figure some stuff out with his father. He kind of committed treason… on our way out,” she finished awkwardly looking away.

“Treason?” I asked in surprise. She grinned slightly but shrugged.

“Odin sort of didn’t want us leaving. So we might have released Loki and smashed through the throne room in a stolen spaceship,” she said.

I grinned.

_Now that sounded like a fun, except for the whole Loki part._

“What was it like?” I asked. “Asgard?”

Jane’s eyes lit up brightly.

“It was amazing, so beautiful,” she gushed. “Very gold, the palace, the bifrost it was all gold, but you looked out at the night and it was so beautiful, you could see so many stars and planets, even during the day you could look up and see different planets,” she said with a wistful smile.

Breakfast passed and I moved over to the sink to start washing up, rolling my eyes as Ian drifted next to me.

Erik got up from the table, drifting over to the whiteboard to carry on his calculations.

I flinched violently at the sudden crash of thunder, splashing dishwater down my hoodie. My head whipped round, watching with wide eyes as a bright light flared through the window.

_The Bifrost._

Jane’s face lit up brightly as she practically ran through the apartment and out onto the roof.

Erik gave a small smile from across the room, watching as Jane practically threw herself at Thor, kissing him passionately.

Ian reached out, resting his hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me closer, but I shrugged him away with a glare.

I thanked Frigga, Thor and Odin as my phone chose that minute to chime across the room.

I stepped around Ian, grabbing my phone and smiling.

_From: Clint  
Bringing the Quinjet. Be there at about 18:00 London time _

I walked over to the roof door, leaning against the frame, clearing my throat loudly. They broke apart and I bit my lip to stop myself laughing at the faint pink tinge that rose across Thor’s cheeks and the totally unashamed grin across Jane’s face.

“Lady Darcy!” Thor exclaimed, stepping forwards I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder. Thor hesitated in surprise before hugging me back. “Are you well?” he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

My eyes drifted to Ian over his shoulder.

“Mmm, I’m fine,” I said, letting go and stepping back slightly, wrapping my arms around myself.

He stared at me doubtfully for a minute before nodding, still looking unconvinced.

“Clint’ll be here to pick us up at about six. He’s bringing the Quinjet,” I told them.

“Is Nat coming with him?” Jane asked. _Where one of them was, the other was never far behind._

“Probably.” I shrugged. “Until then. I am going for a walk, see what’s happening to the bits of spaceship left behind ‘nd stuff.”

“Be safe,” Jane said, reaching out to squeeze my arm, giving me a knowing look as we walked inside.

“I will,” I assured her, grabbing my taser off the table, shoving it in my jacket pocket.

I sidestepped Ian as he reached towards me, making Thor scrunch up his face in confusion.

Erik gave a slight wave as I pulled open the door.

I took the stairs two at a time and went out the security door, taking a right turn back towards the city.

As I got closer to Greenwich University I started to skip past pieces of rubble in the street.

“You can’t come through here, Miss,” a guy in a familiar black tactical suit said, holding his arm out to stop me.

I nodded, about to keep walking when something, or rather somebody, across the green caught my eye, making me freeze.

Across the grass a tall stern looking Asian women walked with a younger, fair skinned women walked towards one of the buildings. Between them walked a middle aged, very familiar, very much alive man.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered. Stepping around the level one agent towards them.

“Miss! You can’t come through here. It’s classified!” He exclaimed, grabbing my arm, I whirled round to face him.

“Firstly, let me go before I make you let go. Secondly, I know that you’re S.H.I.E.L.D, I’ve worked with you lot before. Thirdly, I know that Agent. Fourth, I share an apartment with Captain America, and am on very good terms with Agents Romanoff, Barton _and_ Hill as well as the rest of the Avengers.

“My name is Darcy Lewis, look me up, because I’m pretty sure I have a higher clearance level than you,” I snapped. The guy stared at me in surprised, but still had hold of my arm. _“Let. Me. Go!”_

I tried to yank my arm out of his grip, but he just tightened his hand making me wince. _That would bruise._ Gritting my teeth I reached out, grabbing his arm and twisting it, stepping forward I flipped him over my shoulder, giving a satisfied smirk as he hit the floor.

I ignored the yelling from other Agents, probably drawing weapons, but my eyes were fixed on _him._

Agent Coulson and the two women had stopped walking and were now looking over at me.

The older woman went to step forwards but Coulson’s hand on her arm stopped her. He stepped around her, yelling at the guards to stand down.

My glare didn’t waver as he came to stand in front of me.

“Darcy,” he said. Tears burnt my eyes but I refused to let them fall as I drew my arm back, my fist connecting with his jaw, snapping his head to the side.

“You’re actually –” I broke off, throwing my arms around his neck, clutching onto his stupid suit jacket. His arms came around me, hugging me back for a moment, before I pulled away, staring at him in both anger and amazement. “You look pretty good for a dead guy,” I said bitterly. He opened his mouth to reply but my phone chimed, I held up a hand to silence him as I looked down at the message.

_From: Clint  
Nat’s coming with me._

I smiled slightly, shooting back a quick okay, sliding my cell back in my pocket, before realisation sunk in.

“Oh my god… Clint!” I exclaimed angrily. “How could you? You know he blames himself for your death, right? Nat and Tony aren’t much better. None of them are, even Pepper. How could you?!”

Phil’s expression morphed into guilt.

“I know,” he said softly.

Next to him, the younger girl shuffled uncomfortably, my eyes drifted to her, she looked no older than me, maybe younger. She was around the same height, with highlighted light brown hair that was pulled back into a practical ponytail and pretty brown eyes.

“Darcy meet Doctor Jemma Simmons and Agent Melinda May. Simmons, May, this is Darcy Lewis. She works for Jane Foster, she was in New Mexico,” Coulson said.

“I actually work for Pepper now,” I corrected. “It’s nice to meet you,” I added with a smile.

Simmons smiled slightly and May gave a nod, I looked up at the latter.

“Melinda May,” I said, realising why the name sounded so familiar. “Natasha and Clint speak very highly of you.” She gave the ghost of a smile and another nod.

“You were in New Mexico?” Simmons asked with wide eyes. “Oh, Skye is going to love this!” She breathed. “Do you know Thor?”

“Know Thor? I tased Thor!” I said proudly. Coulson rolled his eyes as Simmons and May’s eyes both widened slightly.

My phone chimed again, I looked down at it and my smile slid off of my face.

_From: The Intern  
Where are you? I’ll come and meet you xxxxxxxx_

I cringed slightly.

“Everything okay?” May asked, looking at me suspiciously.

“Fine.” I nodded, sliding my phone back in my back pocket without replying. “Just giving Clint with an ETA,” I lied. May raised an eyebrow in a way that reminded me eerily of Nat. Phil gave me a sceptical look and I rolled my eyes. “It’s fine!” I said forcefully.

“Coulson!” A guy, in his late twenties, early thirties jogged towards us. He was not as tall as Steve, with short dark hair. He was surprisingly wearing a pair of black jeans and a black leather jacket, not the usual S.H.I.E.L.D. attire.

“Ah, Agent Ward, meet Darcy Lewis. Darcy, Agent Grant Ward,” Coulson said, with a vague gesture. Ward gave a slight nod that I returned before leaning close to Coulson, whispering something that made Coulson’s face harden.

“I’ll let you get back to your clean up,” I said taking the hint, rubbing at my ring splints kind of awkwardly. “Sorry for the mess and the Avengers send their regards, oh wait, no they don’t, because they think you’re dead,” I quipped. Coulson’s glare turned to me. “It was a pleasure to meet the rest of you,” I said with a genuine smile. All three nodded in return and Doctor Simmons gave a small smile before I turned to walk away.

“Darcy!” Coulson called out and I paused, his sudden hand on my shoulder made me flinch involuntarily, _Screw you Ian, I was getting over that._ I turned back to see his eyes softening. “They can’t know yet,” he said softly. “They’ll find out when the time is right, but I’d like to be the one to tell them.”

I clenched my jaw angrily. I live with these people, spend 90% of my time with them and they all know me inside and out.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but please,” he said and I sighed.

“Okay, I won’t tell them,” I said, scowling across the campus. I hesitated before quietly adding. “I’m glad you’re not dead.” Coulson gave the slightest of smiles before I continued walking away.

I paused as I reached the guard I put down, proud of his slightly wary look.

“I’m sorry. But next time a woman tells you to let go, let go,” I said.

“Yes ma’am,” he said with a respectful nod which I returned.

.

I took my time walking back through London, knowing that I’d have to face Ian eventually.

He’d kissed me, twice, and didn’t seem two care that one: I was leaving in two hours. Two: I was very publicly dating Captain America and Three: I’d told him several times to stop and that I wasn’t interested.

I finally made it back to the apartment – flat, whatever – and Jane buzzed me in.

I took my time walking up the stairs, and made myself take a steadying breath before pushing open the front door.

I scanned the room several times. Thor was sitting at the dining room table, watching Jane and Erik write strings of calculations. Ian’s phone lay on the table, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

“On the roof,” Jane said, not looking up from the whiteboard. “Clint called. They’ll be here any minute.” I heard the double meaning in her tone. _Do you really want Ian here with Nat and Clint?_ No. No I really don’t.

Dumping my bag on the couch I walked straight outside where Ian was leaning against the rail, looking out over the city.

“You’re back,” he said, a familiar, painful sharpness in his voice.

“Yeah,” I breathed, stopping several feet behind him.

“Where’d you go?” he asked.

“Just for a walk, to the college,” I said, mentally cursing myself as I found myself choosing each word carefully. “They were cleaning everything up.”

He grunted, still not looking up.

“Look Ian. You kissed me, more than once, and that can’t happen again,” I started. “For a start I don’t want to kiss you, or be with you or anything. I’m sure you’re a great guy and all, but I live the other side of the world and I am in an amazing relationship with someone who makes me feel happy for the first time in years,” I said sincerely. He didn’t move or speak for several minutes, before he finally looked up, turning to face me with an unreadable expression that made my stomach twist.

“This guy can’t be that great. Besides, he’s not going to want you once he knows another guys tongue has been down your throat,” he said arrogantly, I pushed back the stab of hurt and scoffed.

“I can assure you, he’s a hundred times the man you will ever be, and if he does care, then that’s between us. It still has nothing to do with you and my life never will,” I snapped.

Inside a door banged loudly, followed by Thor’s loud exclamation.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, tugging slightly. I had wanted this sorted before they got here.

“Now please leave. I have things to pack,” I said, turning to walk back inside. A tight hand caught my wrist, yanking me back around. Ian leant down as if to kiss me. “No! Don’t touch me!” I yelled firmly, pushing him back as hard as I could, he stumbled slightly as his glare darkened.

_Oh shit!_

That was all I could think before the back of his hand came across the side of my face, hard. Catching me by surprise I lost my balance, hitting the floor with a small cry.

“You bitch,” he spat glaring down at me.

_You psycho!_ I thought in return, screwing my eyes up as I tried to push the images that ran through my head away.

When I opened my eyes, Ian was thankfully gone.

I took my time, pulling myself to my feet, I spat out the mouthful of blood that came from my now split lip. I pressed my hand to my temple, trying to ease my thumping headache.

“Darcy?” Jane called. “Ian left in a hurry. Are you okay?” she asked, concern lacing her voice.

Instead of answering I slowly turned around, I watched cautiously as her eyes widened and she swore loudly.

At her exclamation Clint’s head appeared around the door, his grin slipped off of his face as his eyes settled on me.

“What the fuck…” he said. He moved across the roof and reached towards my face making me flinch away.

A pained look flashed across Clint’s face and my eyes widened, tears rolling down my face as I realised what I’d just done. It had been months since I’d flinched away from my family.

“Oh shit. I’m sorry. Clint, I didn’t mean –”

Slowly, he reached out again, his hand resting on my good cheek, he tilted my head to the side, so he could see the damage as he hushed me lightly.

Natasha and Thor both appeared at the door, wondering what the commotion was about. Anger replaced Thor’s confusion and Nat’s face became a cold mask.

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to turn my head away. “I deserved it anyway.” I tried to step away, but Clint’s hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“What did you do?” he asked. “What could you possibly have done that was so bad that you deserved this?” His voice was sceptical as his eyes darkened.

“He liked me. I didn’t–”

Jane stepped forward with a cold glare.

“Don’t you _dare,”_ she hissed. “You told him several times to leave you alone and _he_ didn’t listen. He’s the one that is in the wrong here. _Not_ you.”

I looked away, humiliation filling me.

Clint squeezed my shoulder, guiding me back inside.

“We need to get some ice on that,” he said, giving Natasha a meaningful glance that I didn’t understand as we walked past.

“Who was he?” she asked as I was sat down on a dining room chair.

“Ian Boothby,” Jane said instantly and I sighed.

Clint dropped a black bag on the table, digging through it to find a bottle of antiseptic and a gauze.

He pulled up another chair, sitting down opposite me.

My eyes focussed on Clint’s hands as I watched him pour antiseptic onto the gauze, before raising it to my lip, making me hiss slightly as it burnt. Every time I tried to turn my head away he’d just tilt my chin back straight.

“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” Nat said suddenly. Before anyone could question her, she disappeared, the door shutting softly behind her.

I sighed, slouching back in my chair as Jane handed Clint a washcloth to wipe away the last of the blood that had dried on my chin.

“That’s gonna be sore for a while, and it might take a while for the bruises to go away completely,” Clint said, throwing the washcloth across the room, straight into the trashcan, before handing me an icepack which I carefully pressed against my eye.

Hissing slightly in pain, I nodded, clenching my fists to stop my hands from shaking, my nails cutting into my palms.

“C’mon,” Jane said, gently ushering me over to the couch, tossing a blanket round my shoulders, sandwiching me in between her and Clint.

Thor stood, as if guarding the door, his arms folded and Erik had disappeared some time ago.

“’M so stupid,” I muttered, pressing the ice pack further into my eye, to try and stop my tears to no avail, only succeeding in sending a shooting pain through my head

“Tasha will be back soon and then we can go home,” Clint said, his hand on my shoulder as a sob caught in the back of my throat at the thought.

“No,” I said, pressing myself into Clint’s side. “Steve’s gunna hate me.”

“Darce, he won’t hate you,” Jane said, stroking my hair softly.

“He will,” I insisted, not paying attention to them exchanging looks over my head.

“Why’s he gonna hate you, Cookie?” Clint asked.

“I let him. I let him kiss me. Steve’s all about loyalty and I–”

“Enough,” he cut me off, pushing me away from him slightly so I could look at him as Jane squeezed my hand. “You didn’t _let_ Ian do anything.” I opened my mouth to argue but he squeezed my shoulder and carried on. “ _He_ kissed _you. You_ told _him_ no. _He_ hit _you. He’s_ the one in the wrong Cookie. Steve might be angry, but it won’t be at you,” he assured me, pulling me back into his side.

A soft knock on the door stopped me from saying anything. Thor pulling it open to reveal Nat, her hands behind her back, a satisfied smirk on her lips that immediately made me suspicious. She moved to the sink, washing her hands, not letting anybody see her hands.

“Are we ready to go?” she asked, leaning against the counter, grabbing a dish towel to dry her hands.

“C’mon.” Clint nudged me. “Where’s your stuff?”

.

Clint and Natasha helped us load our stuff into the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV that was parked outside. Clint drove to a small nearby airfield where the Avengers Quinjet sat waiting,

Two S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents leant against another car, their suits pristine.

“Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff,” one of the guys said with a nod.

“Agents,” Clint replied curtly as Natasha nodded.

“The Quinjet was loaded up in twenty minutes and while Clint ushered us inside, his phone pressed to his ear, calling the tower, Nat stood outside, talking to the two Agents quietly, before handing one of them the car keys.

“Yeah Cap,” Clint said, making my head snap up. “We’re still in London… Yeah, Darcy’s here… We’ve been busy packing, she probably hasn’t had a chance to answer your texts… Hold on, lemme check.” He pressed his phone to his shoulder and turned to me.

_Do you want to talk to him?_ He signed and I hesitated.

Part of me screamed _Yes! Let me talk to Steve because he can make everything better!_ But the memory of Ian leaning closer to me flashed through my mind and I shook my head firmly.

Clint sighed. “Sorry Cap, she’s asleep.” Clint moved towards the pilot’s chair, lowering his voice as Nat walked up the ramp, pressing the button, watching it raise up.

The flight back to New York passed way too quickly for my liking. Jane and Thor were practically glued together, so much so that Clint had to remind them they were in public a couple of times.

After a while I put my headphones in, watching the ocean blur past, an icepack pressed against the side of my face.

The Quinjet touched down on the landing pad and I sighed, tossing my iPod in my bag, pulling up my hood. Hoping that if I kept my head down I could make it back to mine and Steve’s apartment where my good make-up was and cover up the bruising before anybody could see my face.

Judging by the look Tasha was sending me, it wasn’t going to work.

The ramp lowered and Thor and Jane were the first off, I smiled, watching as Thor greeted the team.

While everybody was distracted I took my chance and slid down the ramp.

“Darcy?” Steve called just as I was reaching out for the door and I froze. _Shit._

I slowly turned around, careful to keep my head at an angle so they couldn’t see the damage.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. My eyes flickered over to Clint who had an angry look on his face and Nat just nodded. Jane shrugged but was giving me that sympathetic look, that meant the truth was going to come out, whether I liked it or not.

I sighed, tilting my head up, letting my hood slide down as I turned to face everyone properly.

“What the fuck, Lewis?” Tony asked loudly. “You never said you were hurt in the attack.”

Steve took a step towards me, his hand reaching for my face and I took an involuntary step back, wincing at the look of hurt that flashed across his face.

“I’m sorry,” I said weakly. “Shit, shit, shit. I’m sorry. This is all my fault. Please don’t be mad?”

Steve took another step forwards, reaching out, much slower. His fingers hooking under my chin, tilting my head to the light.

“Who did this?” he asked, his voice tight, like he was trying to stay calm.

“Nobody,” I lied, shaking my head slightly. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Малютка,” Tasha said, something cold in her voice that might have been a warning.

“Who did this?” Steve asked again, his voice softer, as his thumb ghosted over my sore cheek.

“A guy, an intern. It’s not that big of a deal,” I said. “I deserved it. I led him on, it’s my fault he got angry.”

“You know, when you lie, you should just answer the question directly. When you add unnecessary detail, it makes it seem farfetched,” Tasha said, and my nails dug into my palms as I refrained from launching something at her.

“Doll,” Steve said, drawing my attention back to him gently. “It _is_ a big deal. He hurt you and that matters. It doesn’t matter if you were naked in bed with him when you said no, if he didn’t stop and leave you alone then he’s at fault. If he hit you because you said no, then this isn’t your fault.”

“Are you mad?” I asked quietly, still not looking at him.

“Not at you Doll. I promise,” he said, tugging me into a tight hug. I pressed myself against his chest as I choked on a sob. _He wasn’t mad._ “Ssh, Doll. You’re safe. You’re okay.”

He guided me inside and I clutched at his shirt, refusing to let go, he didn’t seem to mind as he kept an arm around me, guiding me into the conversation pit.

“Darcy, would I be able to take a look? Just to make sure you’re okay?” Bruce asked softly. I lifted my head from Steve’s chest and nodded.

Bruce knelt in front of me, gently pressing along my cheek bone and around my eye socket.

“Clint cleaned it up, made me put ice on it,” I muttered.

“Good, it seems to just be badly bruised and a split lip,” he said. “I can get you something for the pain –”

“No,” I said quickly. “Thank you. I’m okay though.” _I should have to deal with it._

Bruce gave me a sceptical look but nodded.

“If you change your mind. Let me know,” he said, rising to his feet.

“Thank you,” I said softly, leaning back against Steve’s chest.

_It’s okay. I’m safe. I’m home._

_._

“Urgh,” I groaned, collapsing onto our bed.

_God I’d missed this bed!_

Steve chuckled before disappearing into the bathroom and I turned away from the door, curling on myself, staring out at the city lights, letting my mind drift.

Just forty eight hours ago I was running around London, being chased by Dark Elves, twenty four hours ago I was dodging Ian’s arms, and other body parts.

“Darcy?”

I jumped slightly at his sudden had on my arm.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he asked, brushing his thumb across my surprisingly damp cheeks.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, drying my face with the ends of my sleeves. Steve gave me a doubtful look. “It’s just been a crazy couple of days after months of… after an amazing six months.”

Steve sighed, as if knowing what I was really thinking.

He lay down next to me, I shuffled round, burying my face in his chest.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured for the hundredth time that night.

“It’s okay. _We’re all okay,”_ _he_ said without missing a beat. “You did nothing wrong. I love you.” He promised me, his fingers combing through my hair making me sob harder.

He continued to murmur assurances into my hair as I started to drift.

_Wait a minute. Did he say-_

Then sleep took over.

**Chapter Twenty-Six _  
_**

Three days passed since my realisation and I hadn’t said anything.

But I think everybody had noticed I was acting weird.

It’s not that I was really avoiding Steve, it’s just that… Okay, so maybe I was avoiding him a little.

I think everybody just thought it was because of the Ian thing.

“ _Miss Lewis, you have visitors,” Jarvis announced._

“Who is it?” I asked, looking up in confusion.

“ _Miss Gray and Miss Lewis,” he_ said and I grinned brightly.

“Show them up please,” I said, moving to stand in front of the elevator.

Pepper and Tony were in the penthouse, Steve was at S.H.I.E.L.D. with Natasha, Clint was… Probably in the vents, Bruce and Betty were in the labs and Jane hadn’t left her apartment since Thor had gotten back.

The doors slid opened and I smiled at Chelsea who bounced little Malia in her arms.

“Surprise!” Chelsea exclaimed, as Malia waved her arms around, giggling. Chelsea laughed, passing her into my arms.

“Hey Cariña,” I cooed softly. _Sweetie._

“Darcy–” I looked back up at Chelsea, the grin had slipped off her face, as she reached towards me, brushing her fingers over the bruise down the side of my face.

“English guys aren’t as Chivalrous as movies make ‘em out to be,” I tried to joke, but Chelsea didn’t laugh. “I’m fine Chels, really,” I said, moving over to the kitchen, carefully pouring two cups of coffee with a baby on my hip.

“You were in London?” she asked, accepting the coffee and moving down to the conversation pit.

I nodded.

“I saw it on the TV. Thor and everything…” she trailed off shaking her head in disbelief.

“He’s downstairs,” I said and Chelsea’s eyes widened, laughing slightly.

“Of course he is,” she said with a nod.

I put my coffee on the table, setting Malia on my knees, bouncing her slightly.

“What’s going on Darce?” she asked. “Don’t say nothing. I got a call from freaking Hawkeye, saying that you were avoiding everyone and might be needing someone.”

“You know what happened in London?” I asked. I hadn’t had a chance to look through the news feeds yet. More to the point, I don’t think I wanted too.

“Aliens, again. Thor came and saved the day. At least that’s what they’re saying on the news,” she said with a slight shrug.

“It was a joint effort. Jane did all the technical stuff, Thor just did the heavy lifting,” I said.

“Sounds like Jane.” She smiled.

“But yeah, we went to London because Jane knew it was all going to happen, it happened, and I gave a guy the wrong impression. Hence all… this.” I gestured vaguely to the bruising on my face.

My mind started to flicker back to Ian’s face, but before I could think about it too much, Malia decided to shift in my arms, turning to crawl towards me, reaching out to tug on my Dog Tags.

She stood up, balancing on my legs, just above the converter.

My eyes watered as she grabbed one of Jake’s tags, trying to put it in her mouth, but I caught it quickly.

“No. Eso no es para comer, Cariña,” I chided softly, her little eyes widened before giggling up at me. _No. That’s not for eating, Sweetie._

“What else?” Chelsea said, not letting me change the subject.

“You mean besides being traumatized by Aliens and getting backhanded by a total Hijo de Puta?” I said. _Son of a Bitch._

“It’s still cussing, even though it’s in Spanish,” Chelsea told me. “Mike’s making sure she grows up bilingual.”

I smiled apologetically.

“But yes, besides that. What’s going on?” she asked.

“Steve said he loved me,” I said softly, my eyes fixed on the baby in my lap, as she made grabby hands for my fingers.

“Miel. ¡Eso es increíble!” She exclaimed, grinning brightly. _Honey. That’s amazing!_ “¿Cuando? ¡¿Como paso?!” _When? How did it happen?_

“Three days ago. I was a mess and I don’t think he meant it, he was telling me loads of stuff, about how everything was going to be okay and all that. I think he was just trying to make me feel better,” I said, to my surprise Chelsea laughed loudly.

“C’mon Darcy! You can’t seriously believe that?” she exclaimed.

I looked up at her in confusion.

“Miel, that man has been in love with you for months. I saw the way he looked at you the day Malia was born, heck I saw it at Jake’s funeral. I don’t know much about Steve except he’s a World War II vet with serious PTSD, he jumps when he hears a loud noise, especially if it bangs, he’s constantly on high alert, looking for the threat. He’s tense and closed off.

“But he looks at you, and it’s like nothing else matters, just you. You can’t fake that Darce. That man loves you and I think you might be the last one to have noticed. He looks at you like Jake looked at me. He cares for you the way Jake cared for me,” she said softly. I sniffed slightly. Swiping the moisture from my cheeks quickly.

_I’d always said that what Jake and Chelsea had was both rare and perfect. Before Jake met her, he was closed off, didn’t like spending time with his family and certainly didn’t like spending time with his little sister. When he first joined the army that only got worse. God knows what he saw out there, but he distanced himself more from me and mom. He met Chelsea and over time he changed. She helped him come to terms with things, she helped him open up, and she helped him come home._

_I never even thought I could have a good relationship, especially with a guy. But then Steve came along and… And it was perfect. He was perfect._

“And the penny drops,” Chelsea said with a soft smile, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “One step at a time, and I know it’s hard for you, but try not to overthink things.”

_Because when I overthink things I fuck everything up._

.

The rest of the afternoon was much lighter, Chelsea and I moved the coffee table out of the conversation pit so we could sit at opposite ends of the rug, as Malia walked between us, only falling a couple of times.

Pepper and Tony both darted in at one point, Tony offered to buy Malia things while Pepper actually stopped and had a normal conversation.

Clint dropped out of the vents and joined us while we watched Loony Tunes and I tried to ignore the way his eyes drifted to the bruising on my cheek every time he looked at me.

Malia took a short nap in my arms but as soon as she woke up she was walking between the three of us again, giggling at the stupid faces Clint was pulling at her. At one point she giggled so hard she fell over, thankfully landing on the soft rug, which only made her giggle more.

Jane and Thor appeared several hours later

Jane squealed at the sight of Chelsea and Malia, rushing to hug them both.

“Lady Darcy, I did not know you were expecting company,” Thor said in surprise, watching as Jane cooed over Malia.

“I didn’t know I was expecting company,” I said, shooting a glare at Clint who just grinned. “This is Chelsea, she was dating my brother before he died and this is my niece, Malia, his daughter. Chelsea, this is Thor,” I introduced.

Chelsea’s eyes widened as she rose to her feet.

“Erm, it an honour to meet you?” she said holding out her hand for him to shake.

“The honour is mine,” Thor said, taking her hand, pressing his lips to her knuckles.

Chelsea’s eyes widened and she laughed slightly, looking over at me in surprise.

“He does that to everyone,” I said, rolling my eyes at her giddy expression.

Thor looked down at Malia who was babbling happily on the floor with a Captain America soft toy in her hands.

“May I?” he asked, looking to Chelsea for her permission.

“Sure, of course,” she nodded. We watched as Thor knelt on the floor, carefully holding out a hand to the child.

“Hello, young one,” he said softly, smiling as Malia grabbed one of his fingers, using it as leverage to pull herself to her feet, she stared at him for a second before stumbling forward into his arms.

Thor chuckled quietly, scooping her up into his arms. His eyes lit up in a way I hadn’t seen before as she tugged on the ends of his hair, he smiled, murmuring to her in a language I didn’t recognised.

And not for the first time I thanked every god out there for Malia’s existence.

.

It neared five o’clock when the elevator pinged, flashing red across the room. Clint tensed as he caught sight of who came in.

“Wha-?” I started, sitting up from where I was using Clints legs as a pillow. I broke off as Nat stepped into the room. I glanced over at Malia but didn’t comment.

“Hey Nat,” I said with a smile. “Where’s Steve?” I asked.

“Hey, he had to run an errand, he should be back later,” she said, stepping over the back of the couch, sitting the other side of Clint.

She smiled at Chelsea before her eyes fixed on Malia who was tangling her hands in Thor’s hair.

“You can hold her,” Chelsea said. “If you want to.” Nat’s head snapped towards her.

Thor smiled, standing up, handing Malia to Natasha before she could protest.

The assassin sat rigid for a moment until Malia reached out, bopping her tiny fist against Nat’s cheek.

“Вы не будете нуждаться, чтобы сделать это, девочка. Ты будесць в безопасности. Обещаю,” _You’re not going to need to do that, Baby Girl. You’re gonna be safe. I promise._ She said softly. I smiled slightly, watching as Natasha bounced the eleven month old on her knees, murmuring to her in a variation of languages.

“Lewis girls have that effect on people,” Clint said, too low for anyone but me and Nat to hear.

“What effect?” I asked.

“They turn the world’s most dangerous people into regular guys,” he replied.

.

Clint got a call from S.H.I.E.L.D. calling him out on a mission, he gave Chelsea and Malia a lift home on the way.

Thor and Jane retired for the night as my phone chimed.

_From: Steve,  
S.H.I.E.L.D. called, I won’t be back until tomorrow. Sorry._

I sighed, shooting off a quick reply before tossing my phone on the couch next to me.

“Steve been called too, huh?” Nat asked, I nodded. “C’mon,” she said, standing up, holding a hand out to me.

“What?” I asked.

“The guys are out and I have a bottle of Vodka we can share, so we, well, you at least, can forget your worries for a while,” she offered.

I smiled, taking her hand, letting her pull me off the couch.

We took the stairs down to hers and Clint’s apartment.

I dropped onto the couch as she pulled a bottle of Vodka out of the freezer and grabbing a couple of shot glasses.

“So,” she said, sitting next to me, pouring me a shot. “What’s going on with you?”

“Whaddya mean?” I asked, faux innocence lacing my tone before I threw back the shot.

“I mean you’ve been avoiding everyone for days so much so that Clint called Chelsea,” she said.

“Steve loves me,” I said, Natasha raised an eyebrow.

“Have you only just figured that out?” she asked.

“That’s what Chelsea said. It seems I’m the last one to know,” I said, taking another shot.

Natasha hummed.

“What about you? Do you love him?” she asked, and I paused.

“I can’t love Steve,” I said after a moment.

“Why?” she questioned.

“Because that means admitting that I’m attached, admitting that I’m so fucking deep in this relationship and I can’t do that. Because if I love him, it’ll hurt more when he leaves,” I said quietly. “And he will leave,”

Natasha’s blank expression softened slightly.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because guys in my life always leave or fuck me over, and it hurts more every time. _That_ guy in the woods, my dad, my uncles, Jake, even Ian. They all hurt me or leave. Sometimes both, and my relationship with Steve… it means too much. I don’t know how I’d ever get over that,” I sniffed, wiping my tears away as Natasha took my glass from me, wrapping her arms around me.

“Oh Малютка,” she breathed. “You can’t think like that. Nobody, not even I know what’s going to happen tomorrow. You’ve just got to take things one day at a time, if things go badly, Clint, Jane, Thor, we’ll all still be here for you. Nothing you do is going to change that,” she said fiercely. “Dong ma?” _Understand?_

I nodded.

Thanking Firefly for my limited Mandarin vocabulary.

“Dong,” I replied. _To understand (I understand)._ I rested my head on her shoulder but didn’t move out of her arms as I played with her fingers. “Did you beat up Ian?” I asked quietly, she froze slightly.

“Yes. I broke his nose,” she said carefully. I hummed.

“Good,” I said after a minute. “I think he deserved it,”

“He did Малютка. He did,”

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

I passed out about one am from the Vodka only to wake up a couple of hours later in Natasha’s bed, screaming, bed sheets tangled around me.

“Hey, Darcy. Look at me, look at me. Its Natasha you’re safe. It was just a dream, it’s over!”

The panic died down and Natasha came back in focus, sitting in front of me, her hand cupping my good cheek.

“Hey Малютка. You with me?” she asked, I nodded.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Or wake you… Sorry… Fuck how much did I drink?” I asked, pressing the heel of my hand into my temple, hoping to relieve the thumping in my head.

“About a bottle of the good stuff,” she said quietly with a slight sympathetic smile. “And there’s a rule in this apartment, Clint’d try and kick my ass if I didn’t tell you,” she said. “We don’t apologise for nightmares and flashbacks, there’s nothing we can do about them, trust me, I’ve tried,”

I gave an apologetic smile as she pressed a cool glass of water to my lips, not letting my worry about my shaking hands.

“Here,” she held out two aspirins.

I scrunched up my face but swallowed them, knowing it was pointless to argue with her.

“Think you can get back to sleep?” she asked, I shook my head and she nodded. “Alright, lemme get some hot chocolate, we’ll watch a cheesy movie or something. You choose,” she said, handing me the remote.

I sighed as she slid off the bed and out of the room, I pulled the duvet further up my body as I looked down at the sweats I was wearing, Natasha’s sweat pants and Clint’s shirt that I don’t remember changing into.

I shrugged, pressing the button on the remote, watching as the flat screen rose out of the end of the bed.

Nat returned several minutes later with two steaming mugs and a bar of Cadbury’s tucked under her elbow.

“Are you cold?” she asked, noting the fact that I was still shaking.

“A little,” I said with a slight shrug.

She sat the mugs and chocolate on the nightstand before reaching into the closet coming back with a large hoodie of Clint’s. It was black with purple sleeves and pockets, a zip going down the middle.

“Here,” she tossed it on the bed. “Clint won’t mind,” she added, grabbing a couple of blankets off of the armchair and couch.

I slid my arms into the purple lined hoodie, zipping it half way up, letting Tasha wrap one blanket around my shoulders and the other over my lap.

“Clint and Steve are due back at 0700. So, we’ve got time for a few episodes of whatever you choose, and if you fall asleep again… It doesn’t really matter,” she said.

I scrolled through the Stark Server of Movies (Tony named it, obviously) and we decided on watching Outnumbered, a British family comedy that I got hooked on while I was in London.

I settled down into Natasha’s side, her arms around my shoulders, coming through my hair with one hand.

We watched mostly in silence, sharing out the massive bar of chocolate

The credits were just rolling on the eighth episode as we heard the front door open.

Neither of us bothered to move as the bedroom door was opened and Clint stuck his head inside, his face softening at the sight of us.

“They’re here,” he said over his shoulder, stepping into the room, Steve a couple of paces behind him.

I watched as his face creased with worry, his eyes drifting between us and the chocolate.

“More nightmares?” he asked quietly, reaching across Natasha to brush his finger across my cheek.

I shrugged, not meeting his eyes.

“Sorry I woke you,” I said, tilting my head back to look at Natasha.

“Hey,” she said, nudging me slightly. “What did I say about apologising for Nightmares?”

I blushed as Clint smiled slightly.

“It’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. thing,” he said. “Coulson used to say it,”

My eyes widened slightly.

Clint never spoke about Coulson… Did he know…?

“Maria said that to me once. Definitely a S.H.I.E.L.D. thing,” Steve added before I could start to worry.

“I’m not S.H.I.E.L.D.” I pointed out causing Steve and Clint to exchange looks.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Steve assured me. “Maria’s coming over for lunch tomorrow is all,” he lied, I raised an eyebrow, looking to Natasha whose face was perfectly impassive.

“C’mon Cookie,” Clint said. “I’ll make breakfast,” he said, pressing a kiss to the crown of Natasha’s head.

Nat squeezed me slightly before sliding out of bed and following him into the kitchen.

Steve perched on the edge of the bed next to me, letting me scoot into his arms.

“Are you alright Doll?” he asked, gently combing through my hair.

“I’m fine,” I lied, burying my face into his shirt.

He sighed.

“When you’re ready to talk about it. I’ll be here Sweetheart,” he assured me, pressing his lips to my forehead, making me smile slightly. “Now c’mon, Clint’s making breakfast and I missed dinner last night,” he said, gently taking my hand and tugging me out of bed.

“ _Agent Barton has decided to cook in the Common Room, and would like me to assure Miss Lewis that she can keep hold of the clothes for as long as she wishes,”_ Jarvis said as we walked through the assassins apartment and Steve wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked together up the stairs to the common room.

Everyone, even Thor and Jane appeared for breakfast, between Clint and Natasha, they laid out enough to feed an army, or a group of needy scientists, an actual god and a Supersoldier.

“Darcy, are you busy tomorrow afternoon?” Pepper asked and I froze in surprise at the question.

“Erm, I’m in the lab. But considering you sign my pay checks… I guess that’s your decision,” I said. Tony looked up in confusion.

“I thought _I_ signed your paychecks,” he said and both Pepper and I rolled our eyes in unison. “Don’t do that, it’s terrifying!” He said with a shudder.

“Nope, Pepper signs them,” I said and he pouted. “For me to work as Jane’s assistant,”

His pout slowly morphed into confusion.

“Wait, so you’re not actually mine or Bruce or Bettys assistant, you’re just Jane’s?” he asked, and I nodded slowly.

_Surely he knew that…_

“But you feed all of us, and make us all sleep,” he said.

“Well, I’m not just going to let you starve,” I said, looking at him in confusion. _What did he think I did?_

“Pep, she needs a raise,” Tony said, pointing across the table at me with his fork.

“Noted,” Pepper said, her lips thinning at the fact that he interrupted her. “So would you join me for lunch tomorrow, bit of a business lunch somewhere nice that Tony can pay for, I’d like to run a few things by you, if that’s okay?” she asked.

“Erm sure?” I said, still not completely understanding. _What could THE Pepper Potts want to run by me._

Steve squeezed my hand under the table, as if sensing the self-doubt rising inside of me.

“Excellent. I’ll come and meet you in the labs. I’ll have Jarvis find us the best restaurant,” she said with a smile.

“Sounds good…” I nodded, still unsure but deciding to just go with it.

And with that everybody else went back to breakfast, as if Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries asking people out to a five star lunch was perfectly normal… _Oh wait, it was! When did this become my life?!_

.

After we did our share of the clean-up, Steve and I went back down to our apartment and I changed out of the borrowed clothes into my own comfy clothes, pulling my hair up into a ponytail.

“C’mon, I’m gonna get some sleep. Lay with me?” Steve asked, his eyes widening into those well practiced, adorable, puppy eyes.

I rolled my eyes, but followed him under the covers, curling into his side, pressing my head into his chest, only then realising how tired I was.

“I’ve got you, go to sleep. You’re safe,” he said, kissing the top of my head before I drifted.

“ _You’re worthless, you know that don’t you?” My father leered over me. “Nobody’s going to love someone as selfish as you, you’re already whoring yourself out. You aren’t even thirteen and you’re sleeping with guys in the park, you don’t have any self-respect,” he spat and twelve year old me sobbed. “Nobody will care for you, they’ll get tired of you and you’ll be on your own again, just like you deserve,”_

_Ian leered over me, with a snarl “What is wrong with you, you bitch!”_

“ _Your brother loved you more than he could ever love me,” Chelsea said softly. “And that’s okay.”_

“ _You’re worth so much more than you think,” Steve’s voice echoed in my ears._

“ _You’re going to be okay, Sis. We love you. You are loved. It’s okay,”_ Jake’s voice faded away as I woke with a startled gasp.

“Darcy?” Steve said softly, sitting up beside me. “It’s okay. We’re all okay,”

“I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You did nothing wrong,” he said making me freeze, I hardly heard him as he assured me he was already awake.

_That’s what he said the other night. Right before he said…_

I shuffled away, pulling myself to my knees as I faced him, fiddling with the hem of my, of Steve’s, t-shirt.

“The other night… When I got back from London, before I went sleep, you said something to me…” I trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

“I said ‘I love you.’” He said softly, studying my face carefully. “You think I didn’t mean it?” he asked. I shrugged, looking away guiltily.

Steve sighed.

“Sweetheart, you’re wrong,” he said, hooking his fingers under my chin, tilting my head up so that my eyes met his bright, determined blue ones. “I meant what I said, I _do_ love you. I have done since… For months. I love you so much; all of you, even though you have twenty different lipsticks spread across the bathroom counter and all of them are the same colour –,”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he pressed his finger to my lips before I could say anything.

“I love how much you care about everybody. Even people who don’t deserve to be cared for. I love _you_ Darcy Lewis, and what’s happened to you in your past, the strength you’ve shown to move on from that. Only makes me love you more, and it’s okay if you can’t say it back, it’s okay if you don’t believe me, but I swear to you Darcy, I will tell you every single day until you do,”

My eyes widened at the conviction in his tone and the sincerity that burnt in his eyes.

“ _Just go with it. Do what feels right.”_ Chelsea’s words from yesterday ran through my head.

Before I could overthink things, I surged up onto my knees, my hands coming up to cup his face, crashing my lips to his, kissing him with every fibre of passion inside of me.

Steve hesitated in surprise before wrapping his arms around my waist, pressing our bodies together as his tongue darted past my lips, teasing the inside of my mouth.

I moaned into the kiss slightly as his hands trailed lower, one cupping my pantie covered ass as the other one slid up my shirt, tracing patterns on my skin.

With the last bit of restraint inside of me I pulled back slightly.

“I love you too,” I said, watching as Steve’s eyes widened slightly, before he grinned, his eyes darkening slightly in a familiar way before he yanked my shirt over my head, tossing it to the floor.

I giggled slightly as he flipped me over onto my back, still straddling his hips as he leaned down over me, crashing his mouth back to mine.

_Yep, we wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while!_

**Chapter Twenty-Eight  
**

I woke early the next morning, Steve disappeared to the gym while I rummaged through my closet.

“Jarvis where are we going for lunch?” I asked.

“ _Miss Potts has made reservations for Ai Fiori, an Italian place just around the corner,” he_ replied making me groan.

“But what do I wear?” I asked, tossing a skirt on over my shoulder.

“ _Miss Potts suggests business attire. Perhaps the black suit dress to your right, matched with the black blazer and beige purse,” he_ suggested.

I turned to my right, looking at the dress before nodding my approval.

I pulled on the dress and blazer on, matching it with the pair of heeled combat boots that Natasha got me for Christmas.

I grabbed the beige bag that Jarvis suggested, piling my taser, wallet, StarkPad, and ten ton of other stuff into my bag.

I lay the concealment device over the top of my leg, watching as it recalibrated and the metal faded away.

Checking my watch _07:30._ Eight hours for it to come off… _15:30._

I gave up trying to cover the bruising on my face after screwing it up for the fourth time. _I’ll get Clint to do it._

Coffee in hand I took the stairs up to the labs, where as expected Tony, Bruce and Betty were already working.

“Jarvis, how long have they all been in here?” I asked.

“ _Sir came in here at 05:42. Doctors Banner and Ross at 06:04 and 06:18 respectively,”_ Jarvis informed me.

I rolled my eyes, moving to the little Kitchenette, pouring out two mugs of coffee and a cup of tea, setting them in front of the oblivious scientists.

“Jarvis, is Clint busy?” I asked, dropping down at my desk, pulling the compact mirror out of my drawer, inspecting my face.

“ _Agent Barton is in the Common Area, though he does not appear to be doing anything,”_ Jarvis said.

“Can you ask him to come fix my face please? And bring the good stuff. Make-up, that is. Not Natasha’s Vodka,” I said.

“ _He’s on his way,”_ Jarvis said.

Five minutes later the doors slid open and Clint strolled in, a make-up bag in his hand.

“Do your worst Barton,” I said, spinning to face him.

Clint grimaced slightly at the bruising, but gestured for me to sit on my desk, facing the windows.

“How’s this doing?” he asked, rummaging through the bag.

“Better,” I said vaguely.

“And what about you? Nobody saw you or Steve after breakfast yesterday,” he said, waggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help but grin as I remembered yesterday.

“That good, huh?” he asked as he dabbed something under my eye.

“Wouldn’t you just love to know,” I said with a slight smirk.

Clint spoke about random stuff as he covered my face expertly.

“Which colour?” he finally asked, holding up two different red lipsticks.

“That one,” I said, pointing to the brighter colour.

He nodded, lining my lips with a pencil, before grabbing the lipstick.

“Done!” He declared, holding up a mirror.

“Wow…” I breathed, tilting my head to the side, my skin looked flawless, not even a hint of dark bruising. I pressed my fingers to my cheekbone and winced. _Still there, just invisible._

“No touching,” Clint said, pulling my hand away. “It might come off. This is the highest quality stuff, so if you and Pepper get caught up in flashy pictures, this’ll still do its job,” he explained.

“Thank you. I owe you one,” I said, sliding my glasses back up my nose, running my hand through my hair.

“What time are you meeting Pepper?” he asked, I shrugged.

“Whenever she gets here,” I said, rolling my shoulders before reaching back to start French braiding my hair to the side.

I stopped at the other side of my head, reaching for the pot of black bobby pins on my desk, pinning my hair in place, letting the rest of my hair fall free over my shoulder.

“Nice,” Clint nodded. “Very sophisticated,” he said, making me grimace.

“Do I look like a fifteen year old, going to their first job interview?” I asked, looking down at myself self-consciously.

Clint stepped forwards, putting his hands firmly on my shoulders.

“You look great, babe,” he promised me. He stared at me for a second before he sighed, pressing a kiss to my forehead and stepping away.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, looking up at him in confusion.

He seemed weird, weirder than normal.

“Nothing, I’m fine. ‘t’s just one of those days. Ya know?” he said.

“ _Agent Barton, Agent Romanoff is requesting your presence in the gym,”_ Jarvis announced.

“Tell her I’m on my way,” Clint said, glancing up at the ceiling. “Have fun at lunch,” he said to me, before heading back towards the elevator.

_Well, that was weird._

.

I hung around in the lab for a couple more hours, making sure Tony didn’t blow anything up, and I ordered the three scientist’s food right before the elevator flashed and Pepper stepped out.

Looking as flawless as ever in her pale blue suit, and fuck me heels, her strawberry blonde hair hanging in curls around her shoulders.

“Darcy, are you ready to go?” Pepper asked with a smile.

“Yeah,” I grabbed my bag. “Tony if there’s still food on that plate when I get back, I will lock you out of your lab for a week,” I threatened. “And you have to eat it, Jarvis will tell me if you don’t,” I said.

Tony made a point of taking a large bite out of his sandwich.

“Happy now?” he asked.

“Very,” I confirmed. Before turning to Pepper who gave an impressed smile.

“I don’t know how you manage to get four of them to eat and sleep regularly. I used to struggle with just one,” she said, as we stepped into the elevator, looking out over the city as it descended

“Well, I do love a challenge,” I said with a slight smirk, as we stepped out of the elevator and straight into a waiting limo.

“We’re not going far. Just a nice Italian place around the corner, but us walking through New York without security…” She trailed off with a fond smile.

_Our significant others would never let us hear the end of it._

Her phone pinged and she gave a slight smile as she read her message.

“I hope you don’t mind, Maria’s going to be joining us. She’s been swamped in paperwork for days and is looking for an escape from the office,” she said.

“Its fine,” I assured her.

We turned off of 43rd Street and went straight down 5th Avenue, past the Library, stopping just past 37th.

“I told you it was just around the corner,” Pepper said, as Happy opened the back door. I stepped out onto the street first, waiting as Pepper slid elegantly out of the limousine. “This is us.” She nodded to the _Ai Fiori,_ a high end looking restaurant in front of us. “Thank you Happy. We should only be a couple of hours. I’ll call you when we’re done,”

“Have a nice lunch,” he nodded, heading back to the car with a slight limp. Since he was almost blown up, he’d never fully recovered, there was serious nerve damage in his right leg and a bit of nasty scarring on his face, but other than that, he was still the same old Happy.

As soon as my heels hit the wooden floor I shifted uncomfortably.

This was the sort of place that celebrity’s came for dates and CEO’s went… for business meetings.

“Relax. The people in here get paid too much to care what you do or who you are,” Pepper said quietly, before stepping up to the waiter. “I have a reservation for three under the name Potts,” she said, her voice taking the cool, yet polite tone of the no nonsense taking CEO.

“Right this way, Miss Potts. Your third party is already here,” he said with a professional smile as he lead us through towards the back of the restaurant, to where Maria was sitting at a small circular table, wearing a crisp S.H.I.E.L.D. business suit.

“Pepper, Darcy!” She looked up, and smiled, rising from her chair to greet us.

“I’m so glad you could join us,” Pepper said, as we took out seats.

I opened my bag setting it next to my chair, so that if I leant over slightly, I’d be able to reach my taser. Besides I already had my knife strapped to the inside of my thigh.

“How was London?” Maria asked, looking towards me and I grimaced.

“Stormy,” I said bluntly making her smile slightly.

“I heard you did good. I’m sorry I wasn’t around to take your call, had I have known the situation, I would have been there instantly,” she said.

“It’s fine. I’m just starting to wonder which big city is going to suffer next. First New York, then Malibu, where’s next? DC?” I joked.

“God I hope not,” Maria said as Pepper laughed. “I thought being Deputy Director would mean I’d get a PA that could do my paperwork, but nope. I swear I get more paperwork than I did when I was a regular Field Agent,”

“On the topic of work…” Pepper started, reaching into her bag, pulling out a _Stark Industries_ file. Setting it on the table. “I’m sure you’re wondering why the business lunch and not just in the Penthouse like we usually do,”

I nodded in confusion.

“Both Stark Industries and S.H.I.E.L.D. would like to offer you a job,” she said, sliding the folder towards me.

My eyes widened in surprise.

_What and what would like to what now?!_

“Technically they’re two separate jobs, that coincide,” Maria put in, setting a S.H.I.E.L.D. file on top of the SI one.

“Doing what?” I asked, fining my voice again.

“Before Phil died, he was supposed to be the Avengers Handler, like he was Clint and Nat’s. He would have liaised between the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., basically doing what you’re doing now. Making sure they’re okay after and in-between missions. Running missions from Operations, being their technical support. Making sure none of them do something stupid that’ll get their names dragged through the tabloids, and if they do, then it’s on you to control it, make sure it doesn’t escalate.

“On top of the training Clint and Natasha have given you, they’ve agreed to train you properly to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s standards, which from what I’ve heard, you aren’t far off,” Maria explained.

“And Stark Industries?” I asked, amazement evident in my voice.

“I’m stepping down as the Avengers PR Manager, I can’t do that and run a company. I’d like you to take my place.

“You’ll run the official Social Media accounts, make statements to the press after one of them does something stupid and you’ll make sure it doesn’t get out of control. Not only are you qualified for this position but given your personal relationship to each team member, we all believe it would only make you better at the job,” Pepper said smoothly.

“When you say ‘we all’…?” I trailed off.

“The team and Jane,” Pepper said. I nodded slightly.

“So you want me to pick a job?” I asked, still not understanding.

Maria shook her head.

“We want you to do both,” she said making my eyes widen even more.

“Don’t look so worried,” Pepper said. “Jarvis scans all key phrases across the Internet, so you can stay on top of media reports,”

“And when the Avengers don’t have missions S.H.I.E.L.D. won’t need you to do anything more than you do now,” Maria added.

“Take some time, think it over, read the files through,” Pepper said, noting my shock.

I nodded, flicking through the S.H.I.E.L.D. file, quickly sliding them both into my bag as the waiter walked towards us.

_That was… unexpected._

_._

The rest of lunch past in normal light conversation and Happy took us back to the tower.

I went straight back to our apartment and collapsed onto the couch with a sigh.

I kicked off my boots and carefully peeled off the concealment device, setting it on the coffee table, which I dragged closer, laying the two files out in front of me.

I took the time to carefully read through them both. Double checking every detail, stopping only when I heard the apartment door open.

“Darcy?” Steve called softly coming to sit next to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said, looking up at him. “Pepper and Maria… They offered me a job,” I told him

Steve smiled but didn’t look surprised.

“Is that why you and Clint have been acting weird?” I asked.

“Guilty,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a slight shrug. “What are you going to do?”

I looked between the files and him with a helpless shrug.

“I don’t… I don’t know.” I ran a hand through my hair, tugging it slightly.

Steve reached out, carefully pulling my hand away, pressing a gentle kiss to my fingers.

“I mean, this is literally _the_ perfect job. They’ve created a combination of two jobs with half as much work as I’m currently doing with almost triple the pay, and I still get to travel with Jane…” I trailed off with a sigh. “They’ve thought over _everything._ It’s too good to be true,”

“It’s true Doll. It’s real and you deserve this. But it’s your choice. You can say no if you want.” I turned back to look at the files and shook my head.

“I think I want this,” I said looking back up as he smiled. I snatched the pen off the table, signing the appropriate dotted line, before leaning back into Steve’s side.

He pressed his lips to my forehead.

“I’m proud of you,” he murmured. Something swirled inside of me at the praise as I leant further into his embrace, smiling softly.

_Me too…_

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

I woke early the next morning, relaxing back into Steve’s arms.

_You’re safe._

“Darcy?” Steve stirred, blinking his eyes open to look at me.

“I’m okay,” I murmured, giving him a reassuring smile.

“Wanna talk about it?” he asked, his hand settling on my waist, tracing patterns on my bare skin.

“I love you,” I breathed, brushing my fingers across his cheek.

A lazy smile crossed his face, but I didn’t miss the hint of worry in his eyes.

“I love you too,”

I couldn’t help but grin at his words.

Sure, there was still the little part of doubt, but lying right here, right now, I pushed that doubt away and pressed my lips softly against his.

I pulled back, brushing my hand through his hair.

“Pancakes,” I said decisively.

Steve’s face scrunched up in adorable confusion.

“I’m going to make pancakes,” I said. “Do you want some?”

“There’s something else I want,” he breathed, trailing his lips across my jaw.

I squirmed as he sucked on _that_ spot just below my ear.

“Hmm. Nope,” I twisted away with a small teasing smile. “Pancakes first,” I decided, sliding out from under the sheets.

I unashamedly walked across the room to the couch, sliding on Steve’s white button down shirt, leaving the top three buttons undone, showing a fair amount of cleavage.

I smirked slightly at Steve’s groan as I walked through to the kitchen, grabbing a frying pan out of the cupboard, flicking the coffee machine on while grabbing ingredients off of shelves.

I hummed as I measured out ingredients, whisking them together before pouring the batter into the pan.

“Something smells good,” Steve breathed, I jumped slightly, not noticing he’d even come into the room.

He set his hands on my waist, drifting down to my hips as he pressed his lips to the crook of my neck.

I bit my lip, to stop myself moaning, but couldn’t help but smile.

“They’re gonna burn if you distract me,” I warned lightly.

“Shame,” he said, smirking against my shoulder, one of his hands slid down the outside of my thigh before he dragged his nails back up the inside of my leg.

I hissed slightly as the pad of his thumb pressed against my centre.

I dropped the pan against the stove, fumbling to turn the oven off, he pulled me round to face him, my arms automatically wove up around his neck as he lifted me swiftly up onto the counter.

He stepped between my legs as he started to unbutton my shirt, trailing his lips down my chest, getting lower and lower as he dropped to his knees.

I startled as the alarm blared through the apartment, the lights above the doors flashing brightly.

“Fuck,” I swore, as Steve rose to his feet.

“I’m sorry, Doll. But I’ve gotta –”

“Go,” I said, pulling him down for a gentle, yet slightly needy kiss before pushing him away. “You can make it up to me when you get back,”

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you back,” I said, pecking his lips one last time before pushing him back. “Go!” I repeated.

He gave an apologetic smile before bolting towards our room, reappearing less than two minutes later, suited up, his shield in hand.

He threw me a salute which I returned.

My eyes drifted further down as he walked away, settling on his ass.

_I hate to see him go. But love watching him leave!_

I sighed as the door swung shut, sliding off of the counter, not bothering to do my shirt up as I poured myself a mug of coffee, walking back into the bedroom.

“Jarvis, can I have a sit-rep?” I asked, pulling my dog tags over my head, letting them fall in their usual place.

“ _The Team has taken the Quinjet to Texas, there has been an attack in Dalas and alien technology is believed to be involved,” he_ said as I pulled on underwear and a pair of black denim shorts, buttoning Steve’s shirt back up, tucking it in.

I slid my feet into a pair of pumps as I ran a brush through my hair, cursing at the sight of the hickeys on my neck and shoulder.

I dabbed some concealer on the worst of them, before pulling my collar up and letting my hair hang over my shoulder.

On my way out of the apartment I grabbed the two files off of the table and headed straight up to the Common Room.

Where much to my surprise Thor was standing out the balcony, looking over at the city.

I tossed the files on the kitchen counter before stepping outside, shivering slightly as the cool air hit my legs.

I pressed the panel on the wall, watching the shimmer of blue light surround the balcony, the temperature rose and the blue light disappeared.

Thor looked around, giving me a small smile as I came to stand by his side, leaning my elbows on the wall, looking out at the morning commute.

“Hey Big Guy. I thought you’d be out there with them,” I said, looking up as he shook his head.

“I am not ready to return to battle,” he said gravely.

“I understand,” I said, nodding softly. “I was a mess after Jake died… For a long time I rarely left my apartment,” I said, looking out at the city. “You’re doing better than me, Buddy.” I nudged him lightly.

Thor managed the slightest of smiles.

“Loki did a lot of… unforgivable things, to the people in this tower, and the people of this world, but…” He trailed off, and I pretended not to notice him swipe the back of his hand across his face.

“He was still your brother,” I finished.

“He was,”

“Will you tell me about him?” I asked quietly. “I’d like to know,”

“We grew up close, we played together, later we fought together. I knew, that we may fall in different battles, but… I lost him once, after I first came here, we fought, the Bifrost was destroyed and we thought him dead. When Heimdall saw Loki here, I had hope that he was trying to come home. But from the moment I saw him. I knew… I knew the sceptor had taken his mind.

“After our mother died, I knew although I could never trust _him_. I could trust his rage, his need for revenge. I never feared he would go so far as to lay down his life for me… For Jane. In our last day together, it was as if we were still young.

“That is the way he should be remembered, but his crimes will forever cast a shadow over the light inside of him,” Thor sniffed slightly, looking away.

My mind drifted to Erik, rambling like he was drunk all of the time, his name plastered across TV’s as he ran around Stonehenge naked.

I thought of Clint, the hollow look in his eyes, the way he flinched every time someone mentioned Loki or Coulson, how I’d go into the gym at five am to find Clint already there, having been there for several hours.

I thought of Tony, the way he’d panic at the mention of the battle, how he’d refuse to drive through a tunnel or how he’d go four days without sleep, because he was so scared that he’d have to relive it.

I thought of Coulson, who Loki stabbed, who died, and then went through Frigga knows what to come back to life, maybe all against his will, how it pulled him away from Clint and Natasha, his family.

I thought of the hundreds of innocent civilians who got caught in the crossfire, the people who never signed up for aliens and war, but suffered anyway.

Then I thought of Loki, who was thousands of years old, and did a lot of good for a lot of people. A man, a boy who wanted to be treated equal to his brother, who loved Thor and his mother, maybe even Lady Sif and The Warriors Three, and in the end, he died protecting Jane who he hardly knew, who meant nothing to him. He sacrificed his own life so that his brother and Jane might live.  
Maybe, if what Thor says is the truth, maybe he had just as much control over New York as Clint or Erik did. Maybe that wasn’t Loki, maybe he was just a puppet, and somebody else was pulling his strings.

Maybe we’ll never know…

“I believe that people shouldn’t be so quick to judge. We have no right to judge your people, your brother, when we know so little about you.

“And when you think about it, none of us would be here if it wasn’t for him. You’d have still been stuck in New Mexico, Steve would probably be working for S.H.I.E.L.D. full time, knowing him working constantly, and throwing himself into god knows what, Clint and Tasha…” I let out a deep breath. “Who knows where they’d be, where S.H.I.E.L.D. would send them. Bruce would still have shut himself away in Asia, leaving Betty alone.

“Everybody here has become such an important part of my life, and if the Battle had never happened, I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be able to walk like I can now, I wouldn’t have Steve or Clint or Nat… I wouldn’t want to live my life without you guys. I don’t know what I’d do,” I lied. _I know exactly what I’d do, and then I wouldn’t have to live that life…_

“The universe finds a balance, for every good thing there is a bad, and for every bad a good.” I looked up to find Thor looking down on me with a soft smile and shining eyes.

He reached out, drawing me into his side, his arms wrapping around my shoulders as we looked out over the city.

.

We stood on the balcony in silence for nearly an hour before it started to rain and Thor headed towards the gym while I swiped my files off the kitchen counter before taking the stairs down to the top floor of Stark Industries.

I ignored the weird and surprised looks that got directed at my leg as I headed straight to Peppers office.

“Go straight in,” her PA said with a friendly smile.

“Thanks,” I said, pushing the door open.

“Darcy,” Pepper rose from behind her desk, looking unsurprised at my presence.

“I’d like to accept the job,” I blurted out in way of greeting. Holding out the SI file.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Pepper smiled, taking the file and flicking through it. “Well… Everything seems to be in order. I will send this down to HR, and get everything you need bought to you as soon as I speak to Maria,” she said.

I smiled slightly.

“Thank you,” I said. “For giving me a chance,”

“You deserve it,” she said.

_Yeah… Maybe I do._

_._

The team arrived back, all of them in a pretty bad mood.

Apparently it was a waste of time, they’d be sent out for something that Level One Agents could’ve handled.

I watched Steve storm off the Quinjet and I gave him some space as Jarvis announced he was in the gym, so I decided to try my chances heading to Clint and Tasha’s apartment.

I knocked hesitantly on their door, hugging the S.H.I.E.L.D. file to my chest as Nat pulled open the door and sighed.

“Clint,” she called over her shoulder, giving me a sympathetic smile before stepping out of the apartment. “I’m going to the gym,” she said, walking past me towards the elevator, leaving the apartment door open.

I waited in the hallway until Clint stepped around the door and paused, his eyes flicked between my face and the folder in my hand, he sighed deeply before stepping out into the hallway.

“C’mon,” he said, stepping across the corridor, towards the door next to Nat’s ballet studio.

He pressed his thumb to the scanner and the door swung open.

I followed him inside and my eyes widened in surprise.

The room itself was the same as Natasha’s studio, except there were no mirrors in here.

One wall was painted black, the other vibrant purple.

There was a pile of gym mats stacked against the wall, almost up to the ceiling.

The room was littered with various pieces of apparatus, a tightrope was stretched across the room from one side to the other, a trapeze bar and two purple ribbons hung from the ceiling.

A freestanding Archery target stood against the far wall, several bows and Katana’s were mounted on the wall.

I knew everybody had a room like this.

Natasha’s was the studio, Steve had an art studio, my old apartment was being converted into two separate rooms for Jane and Thor, there was a room next to Steve’s studio for me, that still stood empty.

I followed him across the room and we sat against the window.

“You know why we have these rooms?” he asked. I shrugged slightly. “This job that we do… It can really screw up a person. We all need a space that reminds us of who we were before the job,”

“Didn’t the… the KGB train Natasha to dance, so that she can kill?” I asked, he nodded.

“But for years she thought she was a ballerina. It brings her peace. Or as close to peace as Tasha can get,” he said, he hesitated before continuing. “I’m not going to try and talk you out of working for S.H.I.E.L.D., it would be hypocritical and counterproductive. But there’s gonna be a time, when you ask yourself ‘what the fuck you’re doing’. S.H.I.E.L.D. changes people, not always for the better and I want you to know that you’ve got me, Nat, Steve, Maria, we all get that,”

_So he wasn’t acting weird because he was annoyed at me… He was acting weird because he was worried._

I nodded in understanding, holding out the file to him.

“Maria said I could give this to you,” I said quietly, he nodded as he accepted the file. “I – er, thank you, Clint,”

He nodded, pulling himself to his feet, holding out a hand to help me up.

“C’mon, I wanna see Nat put Cap on his ass,” he said.

Clint dumped the file in their apartment before we walked down to the gym just in time to see Nat swing her legs around Steve’s neck, twisting him onto the floor, her hands poised to snap his neck.

“Strength doesn’t beat skill,” Tasha said, rolling off of Steve onto her feet.

Steve flipped himself up to his feet, I took a moment to study him.

The carefree smirk from his morning was gone. His shirt clung to him, his shoulders were stiff and tense lines ran across his forehead.

“Hey Soldier,” I called out. Steve looked up from where he was massaging his knuckles. The lines in his forehead faded slightly and he gave a slight smile. “C’mon, I’m pretty sure you owe me pancakes,” I said, holding out my hand towards him. He sighed.

“Yes Ma’am.” He swiped his shield off of the floor and took my hand, his grip slightly tighter than normal.

I tugged him out of the gym and towards the elevator.

“Darcy… you don’t have to – we can take the stairs,” he said, I shook my head.

“It’s fine,” I said, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach as the door closed.

Steve squeezed my hand, tracing circles on the back of my hand with his thumb.

The elevator ride was silent until the doors slid open.

“Wanna talk about it?” I asked as he pushed open the front door.

“Not really,” he said, stepping inside, dropping his shield against the dining room table.

The second I stepped into the apartment Steve’s lips met mine in a hungry kiss, I reached up, wrapping my hands around his neck, kicking the door closed with my metal foot, only for my back to hit the wood seconds later.

_Fuck this is gonna be fun!_

**Chapter Thirty  
**

I rolled over, giving a satisfied groan as I blinked my eyes open.

Frowning slightly at the empty space next to me.

I reached for my glasses as I sat up, pulling the sheet over my chest.

“Steve?” I called out, looking towards the door that stood ajar.

“Hold on!” He called, there was a slight clatter of what sounded like pans. “I’m in the kitchen,”

I frowned in confusion, sliding out of bed, wincing slightly at the cramped muscles _– Urgh, I wanna lay in the bath –_ I grabbed the blue robe from my dressing table stool, sliding it onto my shoulders, tying the belt around my waist.

I stepped out into the main room, smiling slightly as I stepped towards the kitchen.

Steve was stood in front of the stove, wearing nothing but a pair of dark blue sweatpants, flipping a pancake in a pan.

I took a moment to let my eyes drift over him, he was definitely more relaxed than he was yesterday, the tense line in his shoulders had gone and… I shook my head slightly as my eyes seemed fixed on the way his abs flexed every time he moved.

I snapped a quick picture – for scientific purposes of course – before walking over to the breakfast bar, pulling myself up on the stool.

He shot me a smile before focussing back on what he was doing.

After a minute he turned around, sliding a plate of chocolate chip pancakes onto the bar in front of me.

“Good morning,” I said, looking up at him with a smile.

“Good morning,” he murmured, leaning down, pressing his lips softly against mine. “I thought Pancakes before anything else today. Then maybe we can get out of the tower for a bit,” he suggested.

I smiled softly.

“Sounds good. But I wanna bath first,” I said. Scrunching my noise at how sticky I felt.

Steve nodded, sliding onto the stool next to me.

We ate breakfast at our own pace, and I cleared everything up while Steve disappeared to start the bath.

_One person cooks, the other cleans. It’s one of the few rules we have._

I walked back through our bedroom, into the bathroom. Our bath was almost like a small swimming pool.

I dropped my robe, climbing in after Steve, settling against his chest.

Neither of us were in any particular hurry for anything, so we just spent time relaxing in the hot water, talking about random little things.

We got out as the water started to chill and I wrapped a towel around me, walking into the closet.

“Are we taking the bike?” I called out.

“Yeah,” Steve replied, his voice muffled slightly by the walls.

I grabbed a pair of black jeans and my leather jacket.

It was Steve’s rule.

_If you’re on the bike, at least wear jeans and a leather jacket. Just in case._

_._

The ride to Central Park was pretty quick. Steve parked at the side of the road, activating the bikes security system as I laced my fingers with his, walking towards the Park.

We ambled through the park, talking about everything and nothing.

Despite it being November, it wasn’t as cold as usual, so the play area was pretty full as we walked past, small children screaming as they played, not a care in the world.

I winced as a little boy pushed a little girl to the floor, just a couple of feet in front of us.

The girls face screwed up as she screamed. The boy looked down at her with a satisfied smile.

I glanced around, expecting the children’s parents to rush forward, but none of them moved, a couple of them even rolled their eyes.

Steve let go of my hand, crouching down next to the girl, I knelt down next to him.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked softly, reaching out to wipe her tears away.

She sniffled and nodded.

“He only does it because he liked me.” My jaw clenched as she recited the familiar words. The words that every little girl gets told when a boy picks on her.

Steve glanced up at the boy who was standing a few feet away, still within hearing range, pretending to be watching the game of soccer nearby.

“Boys don’t hurt girls that they like,” he said, I nodded slightly in agreement.

“But that’s what mommy says,” she protested.

“Mommys aren’t always right,” I said matter of factly.

“Says who?” she asked, with wide eyes as if I’d just told her I was an alien.

“Says Captain America,” I stage whispered, nodding to Steve.

The girls eyes widened even more and even the boys head jerked in our direction.

“Your-” Steve nodded, pressing his finger to his lips and winked.

The little girls face lit up, all previous signs of distress gone.

“What’s your name sweetheart?” I asked.

_Weren’t her parent’s worried about her talking to strangers?_

“Sabrine,” she said.

“I’m Darcy, this is Steve,” I told her.

“I know.” She said. “You’re very pretty. My babysitter liked your dress at New Year,” she said.

“Thank you. I like your hair,” I said, brushing back her dark bouncy curls. “Where are your parents?” I asked.

“At work. My babysitter is over there with my brother,” she pointed to a frustrated looking Asian girl, trying, and failing, to hush a screaming toddler.

She looked up, as if she felt someone was watching her, her eyes widening as she realised that Sabrine was talking to strangers.

She grabbed her bag and practically ran over to us, the toddler still screaming on her hip.

“Sabrine, what have I said about talking to strangers?!” She exclaimed, crouching down in front of her, the little boy still wailing.

“It’s okay, Riya. It’s Captain America!” Sabrine exclaimed.

The girl, Riya, looked down at Sabrine with a doubtful look.

“It is!” The younger girl insisted, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Riya looked up at us, the angry look slid off of her face as her eyes settled on Steve for a moment before drifting to me.

“You’re – and you’re – _he bhagavaan!” Oh my God!_ She breathed. I recognised the language as Hindi, but had no idea what she said. I watched as she stared at me with wide eyes. “You’re so hot!” She blurted out, her hands clapped over her face as she looked mortified. “Oh my God… I did not just tell Captain America’s girlfriend she looks hot; in front of both of them!” She groaned, breaking off her rambling.

Steve chuckled, squeezing my hand slightly as heat flooded to my face.

“It’s okay. It’s true,” Steve said, making my blush darken.

“Thank you,” I said, looking up with a slight smile.

We took pictures with them both and Riya complimented me on my dress from New Year saying the she wanted to design dresses like that after she went to college, at some point the screaming toddler gave up wailing and fell asleep on the teenagers shoulder. The four of us spoke for a while longer before going our separate ways.

Hand in hand we walked down to Bethesda Fountain.

“I think Nat and I are being sent on a Mission tomorrow, I’m gonna miss your first day at S.H.I.E.L.D.” He said regretfully, I shrugged slightly.

“It’s okay. Clint’s gonna be there. He won’t abandon me completely,” I assured him. “He said that I just needed to do a physical, medical and get all my credentials,”

“Maria’s supposed to be there,” Steve said. “She’ll keep Clint in check,”

I snorted.

“Damn straight she will. Clint’s terrified of her,” I said.

“Sensible man,”

“Have you decided what’s going on at S.H.I.E.L.D. yet?” I asked carefully, making Steve sigh.

“Since Loki, nothing on that scale has happened again, there hasn’t really been a need for The Avengers, but they can’t get rid of us, because something _will_ happen again.” He gave an aggravated sigh.

“What?” I prompted gently.

“I feel like S.H.I.E.L.D. is hiding something… I know they hide stuff, they’re an intelligence agency, it’s what they do. But this… I feel like it’s something bigger, something that matters, something that’s…” He trailed off, waving his free hand slightly desperately.

“That’s what?”

“…Wrong,” he said. “Tony and Bruce see it too, but Clint and Nat won’t look into it, they can’t, and I understand that. S.H.I.E.L.D. saved their lives, S.H.I.E.L.D. became their lives when they went straight. If they found out S.H.I.E.L.D. is hiding something…”

“It’d ruin the both of them. Natasha especially,” I said. Guilt swirled in the pit of my stomach as my mind drifted to what S.H.I.E.L.D. was hiding.

When they found out, and they _would_ find out, it would crush all of them, Clint and Nat especially. Even Tony had an unusual attachment to Coulson.

I pulled my hand out of Steve’s grip, wrapping my arms around myself.

“Hey, what’s wrong, Doll?” he asked, snaking an arm around my shoulder, pulling me to lean against his chest.

I shook my head slightly.

“Nothing,” I sighed, letting my forehead rest against his chest for a moment.

I took a deep breath, pushing as much of the guilt as I could to the side. Coulson still cared about the team, he wasn’t staying hidden because he wanted to. He’d tell them, hopefully soon, and hopefully the team would understand when he did, taking another deep breath I laced fingers back through Steve’s.

Ignoring his concerned look.

“It’s fine. Just… Needed a moment,” I said.

He looked thoroughly unconvinced but gave me the benefit of the doubt as we continued walking.

“When do you start Stark Industries?” he asked.

“Two days. Pepper’s going to take me around Stark Industries. Show me all the PR department, because I need to allocate people to basically sort SI’s press out so that I can focus mainly the Avengers. She’s putting Doctor on all my ID’s and stuff though… It’s weird,” I explained.

“Why is it weird? You have a PhD,” he pointed out.

“I know, but nobody ever calls me Doctor, _not even_ Jarvis!” I stressed, Steve looked down at me in confusion.

“Do you want Jarvis to call you Doctor?” he asked, making me shudder.

“Urgh, no. It’s weird,” I repeated.

“After tomorrow he could always call you Agent Lewis,” he said, coming to a stop, slowly stepping in front of me so I had to tilt my head right back to look at him. “Hmm, Agent Lewis,” he hummed. “I like it,” he pressed a soft, yet hungry kiss to my lips that made my stomach flip. “It’s very… official,” he said, his voice low and thick with lust.

My eyes widened and I pushed him back slightly.

“I’m gonna be your handler,” I realised, ignoring Steve’s look of surprise.

“Yes…” He said slowly, unsure on where this was going.

“Does this mean I outrank you? It does, doesn’t it?!” I exclaimed, bubbling with excitement.

“I guess so…”

“I outrank Captain America! I get to give Captain America orders!” I said. _Why was that so exciting?!_

“C’mon Doll, we both know you prefer taking the orders than giving them.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively with a downright dirty smirk, before leaning forwards to nip my bottom lip between his teeth in a way that made my mind drift back to last night.

I whined slightly as I tried not to think about the way that he leant over me, the way I whimpered as he called me his goo- 

I shook my head slightly, looking up at his shit eating grin and sighed.

_Okay, so he was totally right. On the job it'd be professional... Off the job... Well, that's a whole other story!_

**Chapter Thirty-One** _  
_

“ _Agent Barton is requesting entrance,”_ Jarvis announced.

My eyes widened in alarm, as I tossed my half eaten toast back on the plate.

“I’m not ready!” I exclaimed, diving off of the breakfast bar, back into the bedroom, leaving Steve to open the door.

Grabbing my dog tags and blazer, yanking them both on as I stumbled into my boots.

Pulling my hair out of my jacket, I double checked my reflection.

“Lewis, get your ass out here. It’s S.H.I.E.L.D. not the President!” Clint called out from somewhere, probably the kitchen.

I rolled my eyes, muttering about impatient snipers I walked back into the kitchen where Clint was sitting at the breakfast bar and Steve was leaning against one of the kitchen counters.

“You need a gym bag,” Clint said, giving me the once over. “Fury apparently wants to see you train,” he added with a slight grimace.

“The Director of one of the world’s biggest Intelligence Agencies wants to watch a newbie train?” I asked sceptically, then scoffed in realisation. “He wants to make sure the amputee is capable of doing her job… Fine,” I sighed, spinning on my heel back into the bedroom.

I dug through my drawer of gym clothes, grabbing simple pair of black shorts, a black mesh tank top and a criss-cross black sports bra.

I shoved it all in a small black gym bag, doing it up as I walked back into the kitchen, tossing it on the breakfast bar with a slight thud.

Clint gave me a sympathetic smile which I shrugged at, spinning back around fir the coffee pot, only for Steve to press a to-go mug of steaming coffee into my hands.

“God, I love you!” I sighed, reaching up to peck him on the cheek.

“Weapons check?” Clint said.

“Just my knife and tazer,” I said.

“Darcy, you’re in New York, where tazers are illegal, you can’t walk into a Federal Building with one. Hand it over,” he said sounding exasperated, holding out his hand expectantly. I looked up at Steve desperately, he gave a slight helpless shrug.

I groaned, digging my tazer out of my jacket pocket, slamming it into his open palm with a scowl.

“This on the other hand…” He slid a small black Stark Industries case towards me. I scrunched up my face in confusion as he pressed his thumb to the lock, flicking the lid open to reveal a sleek black Glock 42, with two magazines. “This is legal,” he said. “Not that there is _any_ logic to that,”

“You bought me a gun?” I asked in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes.

“I bought you a backup, you’ll get a service weapon later.” He slid a black paper bag towards me. “They’re from Tasha,” he said.

I leant over to look in the bag, smirking at the black thigh holster, aswell as one for the small of my back.

“Tasha huh?” I held up the thigh holster, noting the purple detailing.

Clint shrugged slightly.

I slid the belt around my hips, securing the holster at the small of my back.

I checked the gun over before locking in a magazine, sliding the spare into the holster.

_6 Bullets, not bad._

I took a second to inspect the weapon closely. It was small, easy to conceal and obviously brand new, it fit in my hand perfectly. I brushed my thumb over the barrel before slotting into the holster, fixing my jacket in place.

“Thank you,” I said, reaching forward to hug the archer tightly.

“No problem, Kiddo,” he said, hugging me back.

We looked up as the front door swung open and Natasha let herself in.

“How’d you get in here?” I asked. “Tony said nobody could get through those locks, not even you,”

“Well, he was wrong.” She smirked with a slight shrug.

“It’s obscene what you do to security systems,” I said with a slight shudder.

“Why are you two still here?” she asked, looking between Clint and me. “You were supposed to leave twenty minutes before us and we should have left five minutes ago,” she said, looking pointedly at Clint.

“There’s coffee,” he said as if it were obvious, helping himself to a refill.

Nat rolled her eyes, plucking the jug out of his hands.

“Aw, coffee!” He whined, with a pout.

“It’s Darcy’s first day. She _is not_ going to be late,” she stressed. Clint sighed, pulling himself off of the stool.

“C’mon then, Cookie,” he said. “You’re going to kick a junior agent’s ass and show S.H.I.E.L.D. what you can do,” he said.

“Good luck…” Steve said, tugging me closer. “Not that you’re going to need it,” he added, pressing his lips against mine.

“I love you,” I murmured against his mouth.

“I love you too,” he replied.

“Urgh, c’mon!” Clint groaned, tugging on my sleeve like a small child.

“Alright, alright!” I laughed, grabbing my gym bag, letting him drag me towards the door.

“Darcy,” Tasha called out, making me pause, looking back at her. “Не позволяйте ему добраться до вас, Малыш,” she said softly. _Don’t’ let him get to you, Kid._ I nodded, not quite understanding what she meant.

“Благодаря,” I replied. _Thanks._

_How bad could Fury be?_

_._

Clint drove us to the S.H.I.E.L.D. building and I bounced my knee nervously.

“Hey.” He caught my hand before I could tug on my hair. “You’re gonna be great. Be respectful but don’t take any shit,” he advised. I smiled slightly as he squeezed my hand reassuringly. “Ready?”

“Nope,” I said, shaking my head adamantly. Clint waited for a minute.

“Ready now?”

_Take no shit but in a respectful way… Don’t let him get to me…_

“Aw what the hell,” I said. “Let’s do this,”

Clint grinned, letting go of my hand as we slid out of the car.

He led me up the stair well and into the lobby towards the security desk.

The guy slid the pad towards Clint who pressed his thumb against the screen, as the guard held up a retinal scan.

“ _Welcome Agent Barton,”_ The AI said.

“She doesn’t have her creds yet,” Maria said, walking towards us in ‘Agent Hill’ mode, a file in hand.

“Yes ma’am.” The guard nodded, as Maria pinned a readily written badge onto my blazer.

“C’mon, Fury’s waiting,” she said, leading us to the elevator, which was thankfully empty. “Directors office. Straight up,”

“ _Confirmed,”_ The AI said, as the doors slid closed.

Without a word Clint clasped my hand, drawing my focus back into the present.

The elevator rose straight to the top floor and Clint let go of my hand the second the doors slid open and I followed him down the corridor.

Maria knocked on a door, not waiting for a reply before she pushed it open.

_Here goes nothing!_

_._

I stepped into the office, glancing around.

It was a large office, the outside walls were floor to ceiling windows.

There was a lot of Stark Industries tech, on the desk, the TV and the hologram table had all been in Tonys lab at some point.

Fury was stood behind his desk, a long black leather coat and surprise washed over me at the sight of a black eye patch.

_Wow… Hypocritical much._ I thought.

“You’re late,” Fury said.

“Well, Stark wouldn’t let us fly over here, so we had to drive across Manhattan in rush hour. Traffics terrible,” Clint snarked making Fury scowl.

“Barton, enough with the snark. Show Miss Lewis to the gym. Her physical starts in five,” he said.

“ _Miss Lewis_ is stood right here,” I said, folding my arms across my chest tightly.

Fury looked up at me in surprise and I could have sworn I saw his lips twitch slightly.

“Well, Miss Lewis go with Agent Barton to the gym for your assessment. He’ll show you around,” Fury directed at me.

“Yes sir,” I nodded, turning expectantly to Clint who smirked, leading me out of the office.

We took the stairs down five floors to a large gym.

He pointed me in the direction of a locker room, where I changed into my gym clothes, shoving my bag in a spare locker, pulling my hair up into a high ponytail before walking back out into the gym, stopping in surprise at the sight of Fury arguing with both Clint and Maria.

A blonde woman was standing several feet behind the Director, who chose that moment to look up and notice me, she cleared her throat, nodding pointedly in my direction.

“Miss Lewis, this is Agent Bobbi Morse,” Fury introduced. I glanced between Agent Morse and Clint with an amused smile.

“Yes, she’s _that_ Bobbi Morse,” Clint said with a roll of his eyes. Agent Morse gave an awkward smile. “She’s also the Agent you _won’t_ be sparring,”

“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief, looking between the four Agents with raised eyebrows.

“To pass your physical you have to spar with a senior field agent. Agents Hill and Barton are too close to you for it to be fair. I’m the only other candidate in the building,” Agent Morse explained.

_I swear Clint said I only had to kick a junior agent’s ass…_

“Bobbi is a field agent with over a decade of experience. As great as her training is going, up until a year and a half ago Darcy could hardly walk!” Clint exclaimed.

“Nobody expects Miss Lewis to be better than Agent Morse –” _Wow, slightly offencive, but true!_ “we merely want to see how well she keeps up,” Fury said.

“But –”

“I’ll do it,” I said, cutting Clint off, getting several surprised looks in return.

Clint sighed, holding his hands up in defeat.

“Just don’t forget to tell Steve and Nat that I tried,” he said, stepping back in line with Maria and Fury.

“The match stop when one of you taps out,” Maria said. Agent Morse kicked off her boots and socks. “Take your positions,” I stepped up onto the mat, Agent Morse stepping opposite me.

“I’m Bobbi, by the way,” she said, stepping into position.

“Darcy,” I replied, copying her movement.

“Begin,” ~~Maria~~ Agent Hill instructed.

Bobbi swung round first, I ducked easily.

We exchanged half-hearted blows ducking and dodging easily as Bobbi went easy on me.

Fury cleared his throat pointedly and I swung my metal foot around into her ribs making her stumble back slightly.

She recovered easily, looking down at me with a slight smirk.

Taking the hind Bobbi stopped pulling punches, coming at me faster than before.

Her fighting style was somewhere between Clint and Natasha’s.

She twisted and flipped like Natasha but had more upper body strength that she used to throw herself forward like Clint did.

I don’t know how long we sparred, I nearly got the drop on her twice, but it was clear I couldn’t win. So I kept up with her for as long as I could before her elbow slammed into the side of my neck, knocking me to the floor.

Before I could pull myself up Bobbi was on top of me, my hands pinned either side of my head, her knees were pressed into my thighs, pinning me to the mat.

I struggled against her grip for a minute before sighing, dropping back against the mat, admitting defeat as I banged my hand on the mat.

Bobbi let go of me instantly, rolling back onto her feet, holding a hand out to pull me up.

“You’re pretty good for a year’s training,” she said making me smile slightly.

I turned back to the other three Agents.

Clint grinned brightly winking towards me.

Maria stood at Parade Rest, a simple, impressed smirk on her lips.

Fury’s arms were still crossed tightly across his chest.

He stared at me, his eyes drifting down to my leg before looking back up to my face.

“Not bad.” He nodded. “Agent Morse?”

“She’s good. Amazing given that she’s only trained for a year. She’s quick, keeps up easily. With more training she could be one of the best,” Bobbi said.

Heat rose to my cheeks and I ducked my head at the unexpected praise.

“I agree,” Fury said, making my head shoot up in surprise.

“Thanks sir,” I said with a slight smile.

.

Next we went through various other drills in the gym, then the range, where I was given various weapons and targets where I got near perfect scores.

I changed back out of my gym clothes and I went through medical and a psych eval.

The Doctors all hesitated over my leg but after reviewing the footage of my match with Bobbi they signed it off.

Clint stuck with me the whole day, showing me from one place to the other.

It was nearing four o’clock when we took the stairs back up to Fury’s office where Bobbi and Maria were waiting inside.

I held my file out to Fury who took it without a word, flicking through it, silently checking each signature on each form, nodding approvingly.

He grabbed a pen, signing something before tossing both the pen and the file back on the desk.

“Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Lewis,” Fury said, holding out a black leather wallet.

I hesitated slightly before taking the wallet, flipping it open to reveal a shiny silver badge on one side, and an empty space for an ID card on the other.

I glanced up at the others and couldn’t stop myself from grinning.

“Thank you, Director,” I breathed.

He slid a black case across the desk towards me, flipping it open to reveal a sleek black Heckler & Koch P30 with two 15 round magazines.

“Your service weapon,” he said. “No doubt you have a backup weapon on you. But this is your side arm while on duty,”

“Yes sir,” I nodded, picking up the semi-automatic pistol, and after checking it over I loaded it, sliding it in the hip holster Clint tossed me, securing it on my belt.

“Go with Barton down to HR, they’ll give you your credentials and uniform,” he instructed.

“Yes sir,” I nodded again, sliding the spare magazine into my holster.

Noting our dismissal Clint and I headed out of the room, both Bobbi and Maria offering their congratulations as we passed them.

“So… Agent Lewis,” Clint said with a smirk, as I stared down at my badge. “It’s not gonna disappear,” he said, nudging me slightly.

“I know – I just can’t –” I broke off, not knowing what to say. _I can’t believe I can be a part of something like this!_

“I get it,” he said simply as we walked down the stairs.

“So, you and Bobbi, huh?” I asked with a smirk, looking up from my badge. “Nat told me all about your marriage,”

Clint groaned slightly.

“Whatever she said she lied,” he said. “It was only a year. It ended mutually, she’s good people,”

“Nat said that too,” I assured him with a smile.

Clint smiled slightly, leading me through another maze of corridors and through a glass door with _Human Recourses_ printed in black letters.

I had my picture taken, an ID card printed and slid into the wallet next to my badge.

They scanned my fingers and iris’, setting up my file and giving me a page of access codes and my locker details on floor 12.

“That’s it Agent Lewis, you’re all done,” The HR Agent said with a friendly smile.

“Not quite,” Clint said. “We have one more stop, then we can get outta here,”

He lead me back to the elevator that we took down to the lobby.

“Where are we going?” I asked curiously as we walked across the lobby.

“Here,” he said, stopping me in front of a silver plaque filled wall.

_THE WALL OF VALOR_

_In honor of the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. who gave up their lives in the service of humanity._

“ _Wars may be fought with weapons but are won or lost by men”  
– Gen. G. S. Patton_

“Every S.H.I.E.L.D. facility has a memorial for the Agents who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty,” he explained softly, carefully prying my bag out of my hand as I stepped forward.

My eyes were drawn to the first row in the 1941 – 1965 section.

Set in a silver SSR logo was his name.

_James “Bucky” Barnes  
1917-1945_

I brushed my finger over the plaque giving a slight smile.

“Steve’s name was taken down when they pulled him outta the ice,” Clint said.

I drifted along the memorial, stopping as the years got more recent.

_Phillip. J. Coulson  
1964-2012_

All those times that Phil and the rest of the team had talked about sacrifice, about how sometimes the job was more important than their personal lives. I always imagined that knowing that made it easier to lie to everyone, that it made the guilt easier to bare.

But it didn’t… Even with my badge in my pocket, even though I’d signed all of the legal documents so I _had_ to keep those secrets.

Still the thought of lying about Coulson made me feel sick. It didn’t make it easier.

Taking a deep breath I pushed the guilt away as I stepped back next to Clint.

_At the end of the day we’re all just a name on a wall._

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

With my new job Nat and Clint increased my training, both inside and outside the gym.

I now had _legal_ access to S.H.I.E.L.D’s systems, which was weird and Clint found it very amusing.

Clint taught me to use a bow, and the pair were trying to teach me to throw knives, trying being the operative word, it wasn’t my strongest skill, but by the time New Year rolled around I could actually get the blades to hit the target every time without them bouncing back. It was a work in progress…

My hand to hand combat was definitely getting better the more and more muscle I built up. The fact that my metal leg could kick through a regular punch bag when I used my full strength wasn’t bad either.

I also got a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform that I had to wear whenever I was on a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, thankfully it wasn’t a catsuit, because that might work for Natasha and Maria, I would not look good in that.   
So I got a couple of jackets, boots and pants, S.H.I.E.L.D. even gave out hoodies, which was… Pretty weird.

Summary: If I wasn’t a badass before, I certainly was now!

.

“ _Agent Lewis, Sir is requesting your presence in his lab,”_ Jarvis said.

“Jarvis, Tony does know my job doesn’t consist of sitting in the labs all day now, right?” I asked. Looking up from my tablet. _It’s been months, holidays have passed and everything, and yet he still requests my presence…_

“ _It’s rather hard to tell,”_ Jarvis said making me laugh slightly, but I stood up none the less, tossing my tablet onto the couch next to me and heading towards the stairs.

I got to the lab and sure enough it was a disaster.

I scrunched up my nose in disgust as I cleared the fungi growing mugs and plates of half eaten food into the sink.

“Lewis! I need your help!” Tony called, making me roll your eyes.

“Hold up. I need coffee first!” I yelled back, focussing on pouring myself a mug of coffee around the dirty counter.

_I need to find them a new assistant!_

Flicking a Doritos wrapper into the bin I turned back to Tony.

“If you need coffee or your data organised then that’s no longer my job,” I said, moving to lean against his desk.

“I have something for you,” he said, and I sighed, biting my lip before I could decline whatever extravagant gift he was about to give to me. “Well, it’s not just for you,” he added. “Come with me a minute,”

I followed him out of the lab and he came to a stop outside the elevator, where the doors slid open.

“Trust me?” he requested, stepping inside. “We won’t go anywhere, just come inside and let the doors closed. If you need to, Jarvis will open them straight away,”

I hesitated before stepping up next to him, spinning round as the doors slid closed.

“Activate,” Tony said.

Before I could question what he was talking about and before the claustrophobic feeling set in the elevator walls faded, no longer did they look like hard walls or windows, a picture spread across the three walls, the window and the ceiling.

The picture was of a large open, snowy meadow, the trees swayed in the breeze, as snowflakes twisted and danced, it was open and looked so real.

I reached out, gasping in surprise as my fingertips pressed against the cold metal wall, reassuring me that I was still in the tower.

“What – I don’t understand?” I breathed.

“You don’t like small spaces which is fine and all, but it means you don’t do elevators which again would be fine and all, except for the fact that you live on the 72nd floor of a skyscraper and I think even Steve would find that slightly exhausting,” he rambled. “So… There’s this.” He gestured to the pictures around me.

“It feels like I’m there. It doesn’t feel like a small space…” I said, turning in a small circle.

“That was the plan,” Tony said with a slight grin.

“I’ve not stood in an elevator this long since I was 12,” I confessed in amazement, Tony smiled slightly, and I surged forwards, wrapping my arms around him making him tense slightly. “Thank you,” I breathed. “You do too much,”

“No problem, Kiddo,” he said, relaxing in my embrace, patting my back slightly awkwardly.

The elevator doors slid open as we separated and the picture faded back into the standard elevator.

“There’s a button here.” Tony pointed to a single button, below the rest of the elevator controls. “It shows different pictures,” he said.

“I don’t know what to say… This is amazing!” I breathed.

_I didn’t have to take the stairs, every time I wanted to go somewhere. Even if it was just from the Common Room to our apartment. I could just get in the elevator…_

“Glad you like it,” Tony said before stepping out of the elevator and heading back to work as if nothing had happened.

“Common Room please, J,” I said, letting the elevator doors slide close and the picture reappeared.

As the elevator descended I flicked through the various images.

_Space, a forest, a beach, the ocean, Manhattan streets, central park…_

I didn’t get to the end of the cycle before the doors slid open and it once again faded.

I laughed slightly before stepping out, looking back with an amazed, a bright giddy grin as I practically bounced across the room.

_I just took an elevator ride without wanting to throw up!_

Walking over to the conversation pit I dropped down next to Steve who looked up at me in surprise.

“Hey,” I said, bouncing slightly on the couch cushions.

“Hey yourself,” he said, looking up from his sketch book to give me a gentle kiss. “What’s got you so happy?” he asked.

“I just rode in the elevator from the labs,” I declared proudly. “Tony made it so it didn’t feel so small, and I didn’t panic!”

“That’s amazing!” Steve grinned, making my stomach flutter at the praise as he pressed his lips to my forehead. “I’m so proud of you,” he murmured against my hair.

I ducked my head as heat flooded my face.

“C’mon, I need to introduce you to a new TV show,” I decided, reaching for the remote.

“What is it this time?” Steve queried, tossing his tablet to the side.

“It’s called Gilmore Girls. It’s about a mother and daughter in a crazy little town who live on coffee,” I explained, Steve laughed softly.

“Sounds like you and Jane, not the mother and daughter part, obviously,” he said, I smiled slightly at the comparison and hit play.

When Steve watched a TV show he never just sat in silence watching it, and his commentary was often better than the actual show itself.

“Emily’s a bitch,”

“Their relationship is awkwardly cute,”

“I kinda – what did you call it – ship it,”

“I definitely hate her, she’s so manipulative,”

“Did he just kiss her and she thanked him?”

“Is this where you get your coffee addiction?”

“I ship Luke and Lorelai too,”

“Rory is so awkward it’s cute,”

Steve and I spent most of the day curled up marathoning the show, various team members dropping by here and there, and of course the show then led to a long debate when we called it a night.

“How do you not ship them? They’re adorable!” Steve exclaimed, gesturing wildly to the freezed faces of Rory and Dean.

“I did at first when I watched it, but wait til season 2, it’s not so great then,” I said without giving anything away.

“What about Luke and Lorelai? When do they actually get together?” he asked.

“Aw, Stevie, you know I wouldn’t spoil these things for you,” I said, it was a strong rule I had. “I never spoil a good show, movie or book. There is a special kind of hell for child molesters, people who talk during the theatre and people who give out spoilers,” I recited.

“Your Firefly is showing, Cookie,” Clint commented as he wandered from the kitchen to the elevator.

“Well it’s true!” I defended. “Nothing is worse than having some idiot spoil an awesome show slash movie slash book,”

I sighed slightly.

Before I could say anything else the elevator flashed brightly through the room.

“What did you forget now Barton?” I asked, leaning back in an awkward position to look towards the elevator.

My eyes widened in shock as it wasn’t Clint who walked into the room, but Fury and Maria.

I rolled up to my feet instantly, trying to look a little more professional.

“Darcy, wha –?” Steve looked over his shoulder, his eyes widening as he shot to his feet next to me. “Director?” he questioned. “Um… We weren’t expecting you,”

“Where’s Romanoff?” he asked in way of greeting as Steve and I walked up the steps to their level, Maria handing me the file she hand in hand, that I flicked open, my eyes widening as I read the first page.

“Erm, she’s on her floor. Jarvis, can you ask her to come up please?” I asked distractedly. “And let Tony know Fury’s here, I don’t want to deal with his whining later. In fact let the whole team know,” I sighed.

“ _The team, Ms Potts and Doctor Foster are all on their way,”_ Jarvis replied after a minute.

I scanned through the file while I waited, my heart sinking as I read it.

“Washington?” I asked, looking up at Maria, clenching my hand into a fist to keep my voice steady.

“DC,” she confirmed with an apologetic nod.

“What’s so urgent? I just left. Jarvis said – Director?!” Clint exclaimed in surprise, coming to a stop several feet outside the elevator, as he and Natasha slid smoothly into Parade Rest.

“Jarvis, why are their spies in my house? Well, more spies than usual?” Tony asked, flouncing out of the elevator, Pepper, Jane and Thor behind him.

“ _I’m afraid I don’t have an answer Sir. Perhaps you question would be better directed at Agent Lewis,”_ Jarvis suggested.

I shifted slightly uncomfortable as everyone turned to me.

“Darcy?” Pepper prompted.

“Steve, Natasha, you’ve been reassigned,”

**Chapter Thirty-Three  
**

Nat and Clint kept their expressions professionally blank, Steve tensed next to me, I watched as Jane’s head snapped towards me. Various expressions ran across Bruce, Thor, Pepper and Tony’s faces, finally settling on confusion.

“To DC?” Steve clarified, his voice tight.

“Yes,” I replied shortly.

“Just the two of them?” Tony asked.

“Yes,”

“When?” Clint queried.

“Plane leaves in 5 days,” I said.

“How long for?” Bruce asked.

“Status pending review at the end of six months,” I read aloud.

_He was going to be gone for Six months… I can’t move to DC and he’ll hardly have any time off and—_

I cut my train of thought off before I could work myself up into a panic.

“What about the team?” Steve asked, this time directed at Fury.

“Will regroup _if_ necessary,” The Director replied. The meaning was clear in his voice, if there isn’t a world ending disaster, there won’t be a team.

“Why?” Everyone’s head snapped up at Natasha’s hard voice. She never questioned orders, ever. Her expression was a cold mask still but while everyone was throwing question after question she’d slid closer to Clint, her shoulder pressed against his in silent comfort.

“Both yours and the Captains skillsets are required to run missions from the triskelion. We don’t have any other Agents with your skillsets,” Fury said.

“With all due respect, Sir. Why not send me?” Clint asked. “Natasha and I have worked missions together since she joined S.H.I.E.L.D. Since then we’ve never worked separate teams,”

“I’m well aware. It seems to be time to switch things up a little,” Fury replied coldly. Clint’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at the cold answer and didn’t question it further.

“Is that all Sir? I believe Natasha and I have to pack,” Steve said, with a cold tone that made me shiver slightly.

“That’s all. Agent Lewis has all of the details you need. Trust the system,” Fury said, sweeping round back to the elevator. Maria hesitated slightly giving an apologetic look before following.

The second the elevator doors closed, Natasha and Clint stalked towards me.

“I hate that fucking phrase,” Tony declared. “What the hell is going on Kid?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged helplessly, handing the file to Natasha in case I missed anything. “There’s nothing in there about why, it’s just reassignment forms, and information on your new apartments,”

“She’s right,” Clint said, reading over Natasha shoulder. “It just says Fury requested the transfer, for six months maybe longer, there is no reason, and he’s the Director he doesn’t have to give us one,”

“You have to sign this,” Natasha said, handing me back the file. “It’s just over an hour chopper flight, 20 minutes in a Quinjet, if the Avengers are needed we can suit up with only a slight delay,” she said.

_A slight delay could cost people their lives._

I looked up at Steve, he stared at me for a minute and I knew he was running every possible variable, how this could go wrong, how this could be a good thing. Eventually he nodded.

“Orders are orders. Sign it,” he said.

My heart clenched slightly, dread pooling in my stomach as I bit my lip, nodding slightly.

“Okay,” I sighed, taking the pen Clint offered me, I leant against the piano as I signed on the dotted line, flipping the file closed, slamming the pen down with slightly more force than necessary. “There… You leave 0900 Monday,” I said.

I swiped the file off of the piano and headed straight to the elevator, I got to our apartment, tossing the file on Steve’s desk.

I stood there for a second, staring out of the window.

_Steve was leaving. Natasha was leaving._

_The team had just started to look more like a family than a team and then Fury’s pulling them, pulling us apart._

_Steve was still leaving._

I took a shaky breath, dragging myself away from the window and into our bedroom, I bypassed the bed and curled up on the soft couch by the window.

I stared out across the city, watching the sun sink lower through the sky. The door opened and I could tell by the footsteps it was Steve without even looking.

He silently sat next to me and without a word I turned, curling into his side, burying my face in his shoulder as I clung to him, breathing in his scent.

“Just ‘cause I’m gonna be in DC, that’s not gonna change us Darcy. I’ll come home when I get time off and you’re always welcome in DC. I was thinking… I was thinking you’d come with me at first, help me set up my apartment. You know I’m terrible at all that,” he said.

“I’d love too,” I breathed. “I don’t understand how you can draw amazing pieces of art but when it comes to home décor you have no idea,” I said with a slight laugh.

“That’s why I need you Doll,” he joked. “C’mon, I’ve been to DC once since I got… Defrosted, and I only went to see Peggy,” he said softly, his hand combing through my hair. “I need my girl to show me around,” he said and I snorted softly.

“I’ve not been to DC in a while… I know the tourist traps, but that’s about it,” I said, my eyes following a trail of red and blue lights speeding down in the city streets.

“It’s a date,” Steve said, pressing his lips to my hair.

.

Steve and Natasha’s final five days passed way too quickly for my liking.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was supplying him with a fully furnished apartment (that Tony was upgrading) so all he had to pack was most of his clothes, except for the few shirts that I refused to relinquish.

We came up with the decision that I was going to stay in DC for a week, and then whenever I got some time off (which wasn’t going to be very often) Clint’d fly us to the triskelion.

But given that I was the Avengers handler, Fury couldn’t argue with that. It was my job to handle _all_ of the Avengers, even the ones he reassigned.

I knew this was going to suck, it was going to be difficult and frustrating but… it wasn’t forever. There was no way it could be forever. 6 Months… Just six months…

The day before he left was amazing. It was Sunday so we had the entire day to ourselves, we did the whole cliché date day; again.

Steve woke me up at an ungodly hour of the morning, I just about managed to get some coffee and make myself look vaugley like a human being before we took the bike through the early morning traffic to a small, family run diner in Brooklyn.

“Steve, you’re back!” The elderly lady behind the counter exclaimed brightly.

“Yes ma’am. I said I would be. This is Darcy, my girlfriend. Darce, this is Evelyn, her parents owed this place when Buck and I were kids,” Steve said, leaning down to kiss Evelyn’s cheek.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am,” I said, holding out my hand, but she brushed it away, pulling me into a warm hug.

“None of that ma’am, it’s Evelyn or Eve,” she chastised in a way that reminded me of my nan. “I was just a little girl when those boys went to fight the fight. They were some thin’ alright,” she said, looking up at Steve with a lost smile.

“They certainly were,” I agreed.

“Now, you two go find a table, I’ll be over in a sec with some coffee,” she said, before bustling off behind the counter.

Steve and I took a table in the corner, Steve sitting against the wall so he could see down the street one way, the door and most of the Diner. I slid into the chair he pulled out for me, my eyes scanning down the side of the street before drifting over the kitchen door and counter. Between the two of us we could both keep note of who is where.

Evelyn, Eve, bought over two large coffee mugs, them to the brim.

“Thank you, Eve,” Steve said.

“Now, what can I get you kids?” she asked, pulling out a notepad. “The usual for you Steve?”

“Yes please, with extra bacon,” Steve requested. Eve nodded, scribbling it on the pad before looking to me,

“A stack of chocolate chip pancakes please,” I said.

“Coming right up.” Eve nodded again, before disappearing into the kitchen.

Breakfast was _amazing,_ the food was awesome and the company was even better. After we paid our bill, hand in hand Steve lead me through the old Brooklyn streets, pointing out different places.

“That was a gym… That was a bakers, you can see there where there was an old bread oven… I got beat up in that alley way… And that one…”

We drifted down Steve’s old road, the apartment that he lived in were gone, replaced sometime in the sixties with new apartment buildings that still stood there. Steve looked up at the tall building but said nothing as we carried on towards the church, stopping briefly at a florist.

We ended up in the cemetery, stood in front of what I called ‘the Barnes-Rogers plot’.

My eyes drifted over the headstones.

_George & Winnie Barnes  
Loving Mother, Father, Husband and Wife._

_James Buchanan Barnes  
A true hero who gave his life for his country._

_Sarah Rogers  
A Mother and A Wife._

Bucky’s grave was of course empty, Steve looked into it a few months ago when he worked up enough courage to come here.

Apparently Rebecca, Bucky’s sister, was still alive, and after he died, she had a grave put with their parents, so she could mourn properly.

There _was_ a fourth headstone, between Bucky’s and Sarah’s, but that space now stood empty, it was pulled up just weeks after Steve was dragged out of the ice.

I squeezed Steve’s hand in what I hoped was a comforting way, a small part of me wishing that Mom and Jake’s graves weren’t so far away.

But they were buried in the same plot, not far from Mom’s parents and Clara, back in Pennsylvania.

I couldn’t bring myself to sit through the several hours car journey except for four time a year: Mother’s Day, Jake’s birthday, the Day Jake died and Clara’s birthday.

Steve let go of my hand, laying flowers on the Barnes’ grave and his mother’s before kneeling in front of Bucky’s headstone, murmuring something too low for me to hear before setting the flowers against the marble. He sniffed slightly, wiping his face before standing back up.

I wrapped my arms around his middle, resting my head against his shoulder as he sighed deeply.

“It’s going to be okay,” I said softly, looking up at him, Steve looked down pressing his lips to my forehead.

“I love you,” he said, I smiled slightly, making note of how he changed the subject in the same way that I usually did.

“I love you too,”

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Steve moving was… Interesting?

We had to wake up at an ungodly hour of the morning to shift all of the tones of luggage into the Quinjet and Jane, Bruce, Tony and Betty all dragged themselves away from the science to say goodbye.

Clint had to go back twice, coming back with various weapons each time, before we finally left.

I lent against the windows as we took off, watching the country fly by, never once letting go of Steve’s hand.

It took just under half an hour before we landed at the Triskelion, and I forced myself to let go of Steve's hand the second the ramp dropped.

A group of S.H.I.E.L.D. lackeys were waiting to take the luggage, stepping onto the Quinjet with respectful nods as we walked into the hanger.

“Welcome to the Triskelion,” Clint said. “It’s like every other S.H.I.E.L.D. base, but bigger,”

We took the stairs up to the lobby… _Is it still called a lobby in a secret spy base?_ … We took the stairs up to the lobby, going through the usual S.H.I.E.L.D. security, accepting the badges, only for my phone to ping seconds later.

“Okay, you both have an apartment on base, but Steve you didn’t want to stay here, so you’ve got an apartment about two miles from here. Nat your apartment is 614 and you’re both being given two days to settle in before you’re supposed to report to Situation Room D at 0800 on Wednesday,” I said, scanning through the email. “Steve, your bike has been taken to the garage, and your luggage has been taken to your designated apartments,”

“I’m going to unpack,” Natasha declared, putting her hand forcefully on Clint’s shoulder. “We will see you… Wednesday… Maybe tomorrow?” she said, before spinning on her heel and heading towards the elevator.

I shook my head at their abruptness, before turning back to Steve.

“So, wanna go check out your apartment?” I asked, my eyes scanning the lobby.

“Yeah, do I have a locker here?” Steve asked, his eyes flicking from exit to exit out of habit.

“Yeah, erm, 41st floor north west corridor,” I said checking the email. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find,”

“I wanna dump my kit,” he said. “Then we can go… home,” he said the last word like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Steve didn’t want to be in DC. Steve hadn’t had anything permanent in his life for years for him, decades for us, since Pearl Harbour probably.

We managed to find the locker room easy enough, dumping his bag in the locker labelled: _Cpt S Rogers_ before heading out.

Finding Steve’s apartment was easy enough, it was only a couple of blocks away, and the streets were surprisingly empty.

“This isn’t bad,” Steve commented as I unlocked the security door.

“Even better because you don’t have to pay for it,” I said, leading the way up the stairs.

_He was right. This was pretty good._

“What floor?” he asked as we went past the first floor.

“Second floor, apartment four,” I said, nodding to the door at the end of the corridor just as next door, apartment three, opened revealing a blonde haired woman wearing pink scrubs.

“Oh hi!” She said brightly. “Are you moving in?” she asked.

“He is, I’m just visiting for a couple of days,” I said, pointing up at Steve.

“I’m Kate, I guess we’re gonna be neighbours,” she said, shaking Steve’s hand, then mine.

“I’m Steve, this is Darcy,” Steve said.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m gonna be late for my shift over at George Washington Hospital,” she said, gesturing to her pink scrubs. “I’ll see you later. Welcome to the building by the way!”

“Thanks,” Steve said. I laughed slightly as she practically ran down the stairs.

“She seems… Busy?” I commented as we stepped inside, looking around curiously.

It wasn’t as big as our apartment in the tower, I didn’t expect it to be, but it was a decent size, The kitchen and living room was separated by large floor to ceiling shelves, some had plates and glasses on, others had various books, I noted a couple on World War II history that weren't Steves. _Fury has a sense of humour?_

I stepped through into the living room, noting the large open fire, there was a simple armchair and a matching couch, sideboard and coffee table.

There was a Stark Industries TV but other than that it looked pretty much like a show home, the books were placed in that weird way where the ones on the end were tilted to the side.

The most personal looking thing was a 90’s style vinyl player on top of the sideboard.

“Hey.” I took Steve’s hand, tugging him to sit on the surprisingly comfy couch. “What’s going on?” I asked. “You’ve hardly said ten words today.” I rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand.

“It’s nothing, I’m –”

“‘Fine.’ I know, that’s what I tell you every time I feel shitty, and you always give me that look, the ‘lying to Captain America is bringing shame to your entire country’ look, or you do the puppy eyes, which is possibly worse, and then I end up spilling everything to you. But I can’t do that look, and I’m worried,” I said. Steve smiled slightly and looked down at me.

“’s nothin’ really,” he said, his Brooklyn accent slipping through strongly, making the lie more obvious. “’s just I was starting to think of the tower as home, as something permanent. I’ve not had permanent in… years,” he hesitated for a minute.

“Before Pearl Harbour, Bucky ‘nd I were – we had a small apartment, it wasn’t much but it was ours and it was home. After Pearl Harbour, he enlisted, he got his orders, ‘nd got shipped out. Then I joined, trained, got the serum, went on the USO tour, went to Europe, fought with the Commando’s, Peggy, then Bucky fell and the ice…” Steve sniffed slightly, rubbing at his face as he shivered, making me tighten my arms around his middle. “Nothing ever stuck, even when I woke up, I spent a month in a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house, the Avengers happened and then… then things started to settle down. I thought living in the tower, fightin’ with the Avengers, you. I thought that was it, that it was permanent… But then Fury turned up and…”

“And turned your life upside down all over again,” I breathed, Steve gave half a shrug.

“I keep wonderin’, wondering why I do these missions with S.H.I.E.L.D, there’s always gonna be a fight, but I keep –” Steve shook his head rubbing his eyes slightly. “I’m just tired,” he said.

I gave him a sympathetic smile, resting my head against his shoulder, wishing there was something I could say or do that would make him feel better, but there wasn’t.

_We’d be okay. We always were._

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

Working for both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries was the most insane thing ever, and what was even more insane?

I was good at it.

Sitting in Ops while the team was out (both with Steve and Nat, but mostly without) finally made me feel like I was doing something worthwhile.

There was only a minor press storm when the public found out about my new job. The rumours about me sleeping my way through the tower spread again. Although at least this time the majority of people actually supported me. (I got verified on Twitter and everything!)

Life inside the tower was just as crazy as ever.

Tony finally finished Peppers suit.

_Rescue_ flew around the outside of the tower, unlike the familiar hot rod red and gold we’d all gotten used to, Rescue was a soft pearl white with copper accents.

Between the new suit and her now fully controlled Extremis powers, Pepper was a new level of badass. If people weren’t afraid of her before, they certainly were now.

But since starting my new job, I got to spend more time with Pepper, she tied with Natasha for ‘ _the_ most badass mentor ever’. I refused to choose between them. I got to see the softer side of her more, she was always there to talk or let me hide on the couch in the Penthouse whenever I need. She reminded me of my Mom, just better.

Tony, Tony made himself two new suits and then stopped there, with the occasional upgrades of course. But at least now he was eating and sleeping on a somewhat regular schedule.

Thor was getting better too, time passed and although he still grieved for his brother and mother, he could talk of them without as much pain in his eyes, the wounds were slowly healing with time.

Jane’s research was going better than ever, between the unlimited access to Thor’s knowledge (and Asgard), as well as the endless supply of money and resources from Tony, she was finally able to start building an actual Rainbow Bridge machine. There was also whispers about a Nobel Prize.

With Bruce and I, we talked a lot more now, I slowly started to drag him out of his shell as he, Betty, Tony and I bonded over shitty fathers after a night of alcohol (Betty and I had alcohol) and a stressful day we talked until the early hours of the morning, one conversation turned into two, and then more and more, Clint occasionally dropping in with his own story.

But Bruce finally stopped looking to cure himself, maybe he wasn’t yet comfortable with his alter-ego, but he wasn’t trying to fix himself, so I counted that as a win.

Betty was working close with Tony on SI’s prosthetic project. They still hadn’t perfected it for long term use without a specialist’s consultancy (those specialists being Tony and Betty), so it wasn’t ready to be given to the public, but they were making progress, slowly.

When she wasn’t working on that she and Bruce were out of the tower whenever they were free, constantly going on cute little dates, god knows where.

Natasha seemed more open than ever since she told me her story.

When she came back to the tower in her free time she took me down to her studio more and slowly I learnt to dance again.

I think it was good for both of us.

I got to lose myself in the music and Tasha got to see dance the way it was supposed to be seen again. She’d dance with me for hours, without the fear of a punishment or a mission.

Clint finally managed to teach me to throw knives properly, it wasn’t my strongest skill, but I wasn’t terrible.

In our time outside the gym we spent time, constantly judging bad movies and playing pranks on various unsuspecting victims in the tower.

Chelsea was still living with Mike and apparently they were more than just friends, but there was no doubt it’d never be more than sex, Mike didn’t do romantic relationships and Chelsea was okay with that… for now at least.

Malia was growing so fast, now just over a year old, she was walking everywhere and even talking too. Her favourite word at the minute: “No.” She said no to everything: food, naptime, bedtime, certain toys and even certain people. Every time I saw her my heart ached a little more for my brother.

Speaking of Jake, I got a third tattoo, a butterfly on my right shoulder blade and the same night I finally summed up enough courage to take his dog tags off, keeping them safe in the top of my jewellery box.

Now I just stuck to my own set, which hung securely round my neck, never coming off.

And then there was Steve. Wow…

I love him.

He says he love me too and… and I think I actually believe him.

Everything about him was perfect.

I trusted him with everything, even the really shitty parts of my life at three am.

It was beyond weird that he was in DC, I’d gotten so used to him being a permanent part of my life that it was just wrong for him to not be here. Since he’d been gone sleep had not been easy to come by, I started to spend my nights in the gym or the Common Room again, it go so bad that after three weeks of hardly any sleep, Clint dragged me to DC for a week, that was how the months passed, three weeks in New York, a week in DC.

The three crappy weeks were worth the week with Steve.

The past two years had there shitty moments sure. But the good far outweighed the bad, and that made it worth it.

Didn’t it?

.

_Life is tough my darling, but so are you._

_._

_Fin._

_._

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much again, the second story will be posted tomorrow!


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